Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, sparked a widespread political and security storm ahead of the elections, after he announced that there were “indicators” indicating that Israel’s enemies would attempt to carry out attacks as the voting date approached.
This controversy came, according to a report prepared by journalists Avi Solomon, Yehuda Schlesinger, and Idan Kevler on the Israeli Walla website, following statements made by Netanyahu during a visit to the Tel Nof air base, in which he warned: “We have indications that our enemies will try to attack us as the elections approach,” concluding his message by saying to the opponents: “Do not mess with us… Our long arm will reach you everywhere and at all times.”
On the security level, on the same day, the Walla website published a report stating that senior officials in the security establishment estimate that Hezbollah and Hamas are trying to influence the elections through attacks that include kidnappings, suggesting that this possibility will increase as the vote approaches. A security official confirmed that the level of alert had been raised in recent weeks and that intelligence was busy decoding the opponents’ plans, noting that the assessment is based on the possibility that the enemy does not realize the extent of the Israeli response, while the concern on the northern front is focused on Hezbollah’s friction with the Israeli army along the “yellow line” in southern Lebanon, especially the possibility of planting explosive devices to target military patrols.
In political reactions, opposition leader Yair Lapid went to Netanyahu’s office, demanding that an urgent security briefing be coordinated to find out the government’s steps to prevent unrest on election day. The Prime Minister’s Office responded by emphasizing the regularity of these briefings, noting that the most recent took place on September 14, and that directives had been issued to the military secretary to update Lapid on security developments.
For his part, the head of the Yashar! Party, Gadi Eisenkot, entered the debate, addressing Netanyahu by saying that if the warnings are true, Lapid must be informed immediately “to ensure that the matter is related to a real threat and not a political move to influence the elections,” stressing that “it is strictly forbidden to confuse Israel’s security with the election campaign.”
In turn, the head of the Amcha Yisrael party, Ofer Venter, attacked the government from a different angle, considering that if the warnings are serious, and there are estimates by Defense Minister Yisrael Katz of an attempt to kidnap a soldier in Gaza, there is no need to wait for the attack. Criticizing Israel remaining “prisoners of the same concept” after three years of war without a resolution, Winter said: “Why the hell are we waiting? Enough containment… whoever comes to kill you, kill him.” He addressed Netanyahu by saying: “Dismantle them now, do not wait. “In our era, this will not happen. We will come to a decision. We will empty the basin and lead to migration.”
Thus, security warnings moved from the corridors of intelligence to the heart of the political battle, amid a division between parties demanding proof of the seriousness of the threats and keeping security away from electoral calculations, and others who see these indicators as an incentive for pre-emptive military action.
