Netanyahu and IDF chief Zamir clash over Iran military action days before Israel election, N12 reports
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir clashed over an unspecified military action relating to Iran days before Israel's election, N12 News reported on Sunday evening, a report Netanyahu denied late on Sunday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir clashed over a military action that could renew the conflict with Iran days before Israel’s election, N12 News reported on Sunday evening.
Recently, Zamir received a directive from the political echelon to carry out an action, which security officials told N12 would “trigger a rapid escalation into a confrontation with Iran”, the Jerusalem Post reported, citing N12. The action itself was not specified in the reports.
Due to the sensitive nature of the action, N12 reported that Zamir requested an in-depth discussion and formal authorisation before moving forward. Sources familiar with the details told N12 that Zamir and additional IDF leadership were concerned the political echelon might be trying to exploit the front with Iran ahead of the election for political gain.
Netanyahu denied the report late on Sunday night, saying on Channel 14’s The Patriots that “there is no confrontation” and that “someone is trying to obscure the fact that Zamir himself had said Iran was attempting to interfere in the elections.”
Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot said on Sunday night that he supported Zamir’s caution, warning Netanyahu against putting his political interests above the state’s. Democrats party chair Yair Golan and Yisrael Beytenu head Avigdor Liberman also backed Zamir, with Liberman calling any attempt to drag Israel into military action to prevent the election a “betrayal of the state and its security”.
Israel holds its national election on Tuesday, the country’s first since Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack, according to the Times of Israel.
Sources
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