Arutz Sheva / Israel National News, on Iran, 26 October 2026

Arutz Sheva prints Defence Minister Israel Katz's denial of a rift with the army over Iran, and never tells its reader what the reports actually said: that Israel's own media reported the chief of staff resisting a Netanyahu order for military action days before the election. It also drops the outlet's own reporting from four days earlier that Netanyahu had instructed the army to prepare a major strike on Iran and that US and Israeli planners had drawn up plans for further strikes.

7.3

Serious

out of 10

What we found

  1. Leaves out what changes the picture

    Serious

    “rejected reports of disagreements between Israel's political leadership and the IDF over policy toward Iran”

    What the words do
    The article tells the reader a denial was issued but never says what was reported. The words "reports of disagreements" stand in for the substance.
    What a reader comes away believing
    That the underlying story was a vague rumour of friction over Iran policy, easily dismissed.
    What is actually the case
    Israeli media reported that Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir was resisting an order from Netanyahu to take military action related to Iran days before the Knesset election, with military sources warning of a miscalculation and of the Iranian issue being used for political benefit. None of that reaches the reader.

    How we know

    Show it in the article

    Written straight

    Katz rejected reports, first carried by Channel 12, that Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir was resisting an order from Netanyahu for military action related to Iran before Tuesday's election, with military sources quoted as fearing a miscalculation.

  2. Drops what it reported before

    Serious

    “I state unequivocally that Israel had absolutely no intention of initiating an attack against Iran before the Israeli elections”

    What the words do
    Arutz Sheva prints Katz's flat denial and adds nothing from its own files.
    What a reader comes away believing
    That there is no reporting at all behind the idea of a pre-election attack on Iran.
    What is actually the case
    Four days earlier the same outlet reported the Financial Times account that Netanyahu had instructed the army to prepare for a major strike on Iran during the weekend of 10 October, and the New York Times account of detailed US and Israeli plans for another round of strikes. This article never mentions either.

    How we know

    Show it in the article

    Written straight

    Katz's denial comes days after this outlet reported the Financial Times account that Netanyahu had instructed the army to prepare a major strike on Iran over the weekend of 10 October, and New York Times reporting of detailed US and Israeli plans for further strikes.

Every underline is part of a finding. Press one to see why.

Katz: Israel never planned pre-election strike on Iran

Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday morning , stressing that Israel had not planned to launch a preemptive attack against the Islamic Republic before the Israeli elections. In a statement, Katz emphasized that coordination between the Prime Minister, Defense Minister, and military is complete, and accused opposition figures of exploiting the reports for political purposes. "The reports of disagreements between the political leadership and the IDF regarding Iran are completely baseless and false," Katz declared. According to Katz, since taking office, there has been close cooperation between the political leadership and senior military officials on all matters concerning Iran. He credited this coordination with significant security achievements and stressed that only security considerations influence the decision-making process. "That is the only consideration - and it will remain this way in the future as well," he stressed. In addition, Katz responded to reports concerning the possibility of an Israeli military operation against Iran ahead of the elections, emphasizing, "." However, he noted that Israel had delivered a clear message regarding the possibility of an Iranian attack, warning that any attack against Israel would be met with a powerful Israeli response. "The opposition's attempt to exploit these reports to attack the Prime Minister and me and cast doubt on our judgment - while we are prevented, for obvious reasons, from discussing the details of the Iranian issue - is disgraceful and irresponsible. We will overcome this as well," he concluded.

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