JERUSALEM: Israel’s opposition chief on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of dangerously politicizing the country’s security ahead of elections, after he made a series of threats against Iran.
“I’m just stunned at hearing Netanyahu recklessly hurling around security threats,” said former prime minister Yair Lapid, the centrist chief of Israel’s parliamentary opposition and a contender in next Tuesday’s election.
“Netanyahu is turning Israel’s security into an electoral circus,” he said. “This man is responsible for the longest string of security failures in Israel’s history.”
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has been focusing heavily on hawkish national security statements, with comparatively few voter interactions, in the final days of the campaign.
Earlier Wednesday, Netanyahu said he had sent a directive to Israel’s security forces to topple Iran’s clerical state, following major US-backed strikes on the country last year and this year.
Netanyahu a day earlier posted a video of himself in front of a fighter jet speaking to US President Donald Trump by telephone saying they would “finish the job” together, after warning that Israeli forces were ready on a moment’s notice.
Axios, quoting unnamed officials, said Israeli warplanes flew near Iranian airspace on Monday. The move came as Netanyahu’s government accused Iran of seeking a provocation and warned of a massive response.
Netanyahu is running neck and neck in recent polls against an opposition bloc that includes Lapid and is led by Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief.
The opposition has sought to highlight Netanyahu’s failure to prevent the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, the deadliest in Israel’s history.