Netanyahu Denies Clash With Eyal Zamir Over Iran Operation Ahead Of Israel Election

Clash Over Iran Operation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir clashed over a proposed military operation that could trigger fighting with Iran ahead of Israel’s election, Channel 12 reported Sunday. Zamir requested a detailed discussion and signed legal authorization from political leaders before carrying out instructions, and a security official warned the operation could rapidly escalate into a confrontation with Iran and lead to a miscalculation at a particularly sensitive time. Netanyahu denied any dispute with Zamir during an interview with Israel’s Channel 14 later Sunday, saying, “There is no confrontation,” and he also told Channel 14 that he had instructed the Mossad intelligence agency and the military to work toward toppling Iran’s government.

+2Netanyahu denies rift8 of 11 outlets reported it · not in DW and 2 more▾

Opposition party leaders Gadi Eisenkot and Yair Golan accused Netanyahu of spreading fear and panic before the vote, after Netanyahu posted an AI-generated image of a nuclear explosion over Tel Aviv alongside a warning about Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. El País said the Channel 12 account described an unprecedented confrontation at an air base over a military operation approved by the government that could have triggered a war with Iran, with the military leadership interpreting it as guided more by political payoff than by a real threat.

Reporting for this sectionAnadolu AjansıEl País

Opposition Pushback, IDF Denial

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz denied reports of differences between the political leadership and the army over directing a strike on Iran, and he described the news as “utterly unfounded and completely false,” while saying Tel Aviv did not intend to mount a preemptive attack before the Knesset elections scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday. Katz said the opposition’s attempt to exploit the reports to attack Prime Minister بنيامين نتنياهو and cast doubt on the government’s decisions was “shameful and irresponsible,” and he added that security constraints prevent the political leadership from disclosing details related to the Iranian file. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit insisted in a statement that the IDF is focused on its missions and that its operational activities and decisions are based solely on “security, professional, objective and national considerations.”

Katz denies Iran rift5 of 8 outlets reported it · not in The Statesman and 2 more▾

Gadi Eisenkot announced his support for Zamir’s stance, warning Netanyahu not to place his political interests above Israel’s security, and Eisenkot told the prime minister, “Netanyahu, I have my eye on you.” Yair Golan backed Zamir’s commitment to performing his professional duty, saying “no military move should be allowed unless it is based on a clear security necessity, a strategic goal, and a responsible plan of action.”

Opposition backs Zamir4 of 8 outlets reported it · not in DW and 3 more▾

Reporting for this sectionEuronewswww.ynetnews › article

Election Stakes and Escalation

Channel 12’s report, as described by Anadolu Ajansı, said military concerns centered on the possibility that political leadership could exploit tensions with Iran for electoral gain before the Oct. 27 parliamentary vote.

DW reported that Netanyahu warned Iran and its allies on Sunday not to attempt to disrupt the elections, saying, “We have intelligence indications that Iran and its agents may try to challenge us by launching attacks aimed at disrupting the elections.”

DW also said Netanyahu posted an AI-generated image showing a massive fiery cloud resulting from a nuclear explosion over Tel Aviv, accompanied by text attributed to a right-wing political commentator describing Iran as an existential threat.

Euronews said polls showed Netanyahu’s bloc may fail to secure the 61 seats needed to form a government out of 120 in the Knesset, while the opposition accuses Netanyahu of attempting to exploit the war politically.

In the same reporting, Euronews said the Channel 12 report sparked strong reactions among the Israeli opposition, and it quoted Eisenkot arguing that state security is not a tool for political maneuvering and that the lives of citizens and soldiers should not be put at risk to serve personal interests.

Reporting for this sectionDWEuronews