By Elizabeth Gresosky
On the eve of elections in Israel, reports are swirling that there are internal clashes with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is up for reelection, over the issue of military escalation.
The Times of Israel, following up on a story from the Channel 12 outlet, is reporting that IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir is “resisting carrying out” an “unspecified military action” relating to Iran.
The report from Channel 12 quotes a military source as saying, “This relates to an action that could lead to a flare-up with Iran, at a sensitive and dramatic moment, creating this [potential] miscalculation.” The Times of Israel explains,
“In recent days, the report elaborates, Zamir received an unspecified ‘instruction’ from the political echelon. This prompted Zamir to request a serious discussion before carrying out the instructed step. He further requested ‘legal, signed documentation’ from Netanyahu regarding this move.”
Essentially, there is concern that military escalation with Iran could be used for political benefit, such as as a pretext to delay or cancel the elections. The Times of Israel reports that “unnamed political sources” are denying Channel 12’s story.
On Sunday, Netanyahu posted an AI-generated image of a nuclear mushroom cloud over Tel Aviv, writing that not voting for him in the election could lead to a “second Holocaust.”
At least one of Netanyahu’s political opponents is using the moment to call for a criminal investigation into the current prime minister.
Commenting on the Channel 12 report, Chairman of the Beytenu party in Israel Avigdor Liberman wrote on Sunday, “As I said a few weeks ago, I have no doubt that Bibi is trying by force to drag Israel into a military move in order to prevent the elections. This conduct amounts to betrayal of the state and its security.”
On Monday morning, Liberman announced that he had officially appealed to the Attorney General demanding that a criminal investigation into Netayanhu be opened.
“In the past month, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been pressuring the heads of the security establishment to take steps that could create a miscalculation vis-à-vis Iran,” Liberman wrote.”
“The attempt to drag the State of Israel into war on the eve of elections, together with the willingness to sacrifice IDF soldiers solely due to fear of losing the elections, constitutes treason against the state, its security, and the IDF soldiers.”
