Lapid's Bombshell: "Israel Is Funding Humanitarian Aid to Gaza Through Swiss Shell Companies"

In a speech delivered earlier today (Monday), opposition leader MK Yair Lapid accused the government of paying for humanitarian aid through shell companies.

Lapid began his speech: "As we know, the Knesset’s role is not only to legislate, which it does far too much, but also to oversee the government’s work, which it does far too little. Our job is to ask the government tough questions, and with such a question, I take the podium today."

He asked: "Is the State of Israel behind two shell companies established in Switzerland and the United States, GHF and SRS, to organize and fund humanitarian aid in Gaza?"

Lapid further questioned: "Is the money of Israeli taxpayers the money funding humanitarian aid in Gaza today? Could it be that Israeli security services were sent by the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister to transfer Israeli funds abroad, only for them to return to Gaza as humanitarian aid?"

According to Lapid, "These two companies were, astonishingly, registered at the same time, in the same week, in November 2024, by the same lawyer, and immediately after their establishment, one company hired the services of the other to organize and distribute aid in Gaza."

Lapid continued: "Originally, these two companies announced that Gulf states would fund the aid, but the Gulf states refused. They refused because they were suspicious about how these two organizations were established and managed from day one. Despite the Gulf states’ refusal to fund the organizations, miraculously, $100 million suddenly appeared in the budgets of these two organizations."

He added: "Jake Wood, the CEO of GHF, said the donation came from a Western European country. Astonishingly, no Western European country has announced or admitted to donating money for humanitarian aid in Gaza. This makes no sense. Why would a European country donating money for humanitarian aid want to hide it? Which country would transfer $100 million to an organization that was just established and hasn’t done anything yet?"

Earlier, at the start of his faction meeting, Lapid said: "The resumption of fighting has caused a budget overrun of over 15 billion shekels in the defense budget. The state budget is a joke. If the war in Gaza continues, prices will rise again, salaries will drop again, and they’ll raise taxes on the Israeli middle class again."

He continued: "The government hasn’t said, hasn’t bothered to explain, how it plans to finance this money. It hasn’t done the most basic thing a government does during wartime: budget planning for its expenses, so it doesn’t fall on the citizens."

According to Lapid: "In the discussion, not even for a moment was the possibility raised of closing a single unnecessary government ministry. There are at least 15 redundant government ministries. We don’t need Struk’s ministry, we don’t need Amichai Eliyahu’s ministry, we don’t need two ministers in the Defense Ministry, and we don’t need two ministers in the Finance Ministry."

Lapid claimed: "In the discussion, not even for a moment was the possibility raised of cutting a single shekel from coalition funds, from the billions they transfer to draft-dodgers and the corrupt. The money of reservists and taxpayers is being funneled to those who refuse to enlist in the army and refuse to work. What we’re facing is the greatest theft in the history of the state, and it’s happening during wartime, by an irresponsible government abusing its power to rob the citizens who keep it alive."