Israeli officials rejected reports of a military dispute over Iran as voters prepare to cast ballots in the country’s first national election since Oct. 7, 2023.
Israel entered the final 24 hours of its election campaign on Monday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected reports of a clash with military commanders over an action against Iran, PBS NewsHour reported.
The friction flared days after President Donald Trump endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling him an ally against Tehran and urging voters to support him to block Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Allegations of pre-election friction
Broadcaster Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu and his military chief of staff disagreed over an order to carry out an operation that the army feared could reignite conflict with Iran before the vote. The prime minister’s office dismissed the report as fake news. Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X that Israel had no intention of starting an attack before balloting begins, calling reports of divisions between civilian and military leaders “completely baseless and false.” Katz said Israel remains prepared to respond forcefully if Iran strikes first.
Netanyahu’s political rivals criticized the reported dispute. Former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot warned the prime minister not to place political survival above national security, writing on X, “Netanyahu, my eyes are on you.” Avigdor Lieberman, head of the hawkish Yisrael Beytenu party, asked the attorney general to open a criminal treason inquiry into whether Netanyahu tried to drag the country into war to avoid losing the vote.
Across the region, observers said the election would not alter Israeli policy. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Monday that the leadership in Tehran sees no difference in who wins power. Displaced Palestinians in Gaza, including Jamal Abu Deeb in Khan Younis and Ibrahim Qeshta in Rafah, said daily strikes continue and neither leading candidate offers relief.
Background on Netanyahu’s tenure
The Oct. 27 election is the country’s first national vote since the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, Fox News reported. The contest is viewed in Israel as a referendum on whether Netanyahu should keep power to pursue his war goals, which include disarming Hamas and Hezbollah and preventing Iran from acquiring atomic weapons.
Netanyahu has served roughly 20 years in office across several stints. He began his diplomatic work in 1982 at Israel’s embassy in Washington and served as United Nations ambassador between 1984 and 1988. He took the leadership of Likud in 1993, won the premiership in 1996, and later ran the foreign and finance ministries before returning as prime minister from 2009 to 2021 and again in late 2022.
His current term included mass demonstrations in 2023 against proposed judicial changes, followed by intense scrutiny after the Oct. 7 attacks. Netanyahu faced criticism over the hostage crisis, though Israeli officials worked with American negotiators to return all captives. He has also faced political pressure over military draft exemptions granted to ultra-Orthodox men.
Divided voters and what happens next
Israeli media polls show that neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition led by Eisenkot has a clear route to the 61 seats needed for a majority in the Knesset. Netanyahu relies on religious and right-wing allies, including Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit, Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism-Zehut, Shas, and United Torah Judaism. A newer right-wing party, Amcha Yisrael, led by Ofer Winter, has argued with Likud over fears that falling below the electoral threshold could waste right-wing ballots.
Voters cast ballots Tuesday in the national election. If no candidate manages to form a governing coalition after the votes are counted, Israel could face another election cycle, repeating the political deadlock that led to four separate elections between April 2019 and March 2021.
