Netanyahu denies planning Iran attack to boost election chances
Israel's prime minister and defense minister rejected reports that Netanyahu pushed for a possible strike on Iran on the eve of the vote, as opposition leaders accused him of endangering regional stability.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday denied reports that he had pushed the military to carry out an action that could reignite the conflict with Iran just before the country's election. The allegations, first published by Israel's Channel 12, claimed Netanyahu and his military chief of staff disagreed over an instruction the army feared could escalate hostilities. Netanyahu's office dismissed the report as « fake news ».
Defense Minister Israel Katz also rejected the account. « I state unequivocally that there has been no intention by Israel of initiating an attack on Iran before the elections in Israel, » Katz wrote on X, calling reports of rifts between political and military leaders « completely baseless and false. » He added, however, that Israel would respond forcefully if Iran attacked first.
Netanyahu's opponents seized on the reports. His main rival, former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, warned him not to « dare to place your own political interests above the security of the state. » In a post on X, Eisenkot wrote, « Netanyahu, my eyes are on you. » Avigdor Lieberman, head of the hawkish Yisrael Beytenu party, which is part of the opposition bloc, sent a letter to Israel's attorney general demanding a criminal investigation into possible treason. He accused Netanyahu of attempting to drag Israel into war on the eve of the election, including a willingness to sacrifice soldiers out of fear of losing the vote.
The Tuesday vote is the first since Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and conflicts across the Middle East. Israelis are deeply divided heading into what is expected to be a close race, and the veteran leader's legacy is on the line. Netanyahu's critics say he should be held accountable for failures surrounding the October 7 attack. His supporters argue he has led the country back from its most difficult moment.
The outcome is being watched beyond Israel's borders. Brazil's voters delivered a setback to the populist right on Sunday, when President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won a surprising victory over Flávio Bolsonaro. In the United States, the Republican Party of President Donald Trump, which has endorsed Netanyahu, faces its own test in next week's midterm elections.
Many Palestinians expect little change regardless of who wins. In southern Gaza, Jamal Abu Deeb, displaced from Khan Younis, said that whoever is elected, « it is all war and destruction, » adding that strikes still kill people and children daily. Ibrahim Qeshta, displaced from Rafah, said the candidates « all have the same playbook » and that « our people die every day, for nothing. » Netanyahu and his main rivals have broadly similar approaches to Israel's security posture in Gaza and toward Iran.
Iran also followed the final campaign days closely. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said in his weekly briefing on Monday that « it makes no difference to us who ultimately takes the helm of a regime whose track record shows that it has brought nothing to our region but violence and bloodshed. »
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