Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel's "enemies" may try to attack leading up to October's Knesset elections in a Tuesday statement.
"There are signs that leading up to the elections, our enemies will try to attack us," Netanyahu said from Tel Nof Air Force Base. "I am sending you [Israel's enemies] a message: Don't mess with us. Our long arm will reach you anywhere, and at any time." The prime minister did not specify which enemies he meant.
A four-way meeting on the issue is set for 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday between opposition leader Yair Lapid, Netanyahu, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) Director David Zini, and CEC Chairman and Supreme Court Deputy Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg, Lapid's office told The Jerusalem Post. In addition, the security cabinet will meet prior to the meeting requested by Lapid.
Lapid demanded such a meeting earlier on Tuesday after the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) denied his initial request for an urgent briefing from Netanyahu following the prime minister's warning.
"When the prime minister of a democratic state publicly states there is a threat that could disrupt the elections, all relevant parties must receive a full briefing on the nature of the problem and the measures being taken to ensure the democratic process is fully upheld," Lapid's office stated in its demand.
The Yashar party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, responded to Netanyahu's comments by issuing a formal warning letter earlier on Tuesday demanding the removal of his footage from the base within four hours, saying that it violates election propaganda law prohibiting the use of public assets in connection with election campaigning.
The letter noted that Yashar would consider filing an injunction with the Central Elections Committee (CEC) if the removal demand is not met by the deadline.
Eisenkot: PM must brief Lapid to ensure threats are not a 'political stunt'
Eisenkot initially responded to Netanyahu's comments earlier on Tuesday, stating in a post on X/Twitter that "opposition leader Yair Lapid must be briefed immediately" if the security threats are found to be legitimate.
"This is necessary to ensure that this is indeed a genuine threat and not a political maneuver intended to undermine the electoral process," Eisenkot, the leading candidate to replace Netanyahu as prime minister, added.
"Israel’s security must never be conflated with the election campaign," Eisenkot emphasized. "Not even for appearances’ sake."
Brig.-Gen. (res.) Ofer Winter also responded to Netanyahu's warning, posting a video on social media in which he asked why Israel was "waiting" to respond if a security threat is imminent.
"The prime minister said that there are signs of an expected attack in the coming days," he said. "What are we waiting for?"
Officials: Terror groups will try to influence elections through attacks, kidnappings
Senior officials in the security establishment assess that Hezbollah and Hamas will try to influence Israel’s election campaign through attacks, including kidnapping attacks, and that as Israel gets closer to election day, the likelihood of this will increase. As a result, the IDF has tightened cooperation between the Air Force and ground forces.
According to a security official, alert levels have been raised in recent weeks, and for nights, the intelligence community has been occupied with trying to understand what the enemy is planning. The security official explained that the assessment is that the enemy does not always make the correct calculation or correctly assess how we will respond, “and for that we need to be prepared.”
Meanwhile, Northern Command is very concerned about the friction with Hezbollah along the yellow line in southern Lebanon, deep inside the territory. The senior official emphasized that the main concern is explosive devices that Hezbollah operatives may plant along routes and near outposts, against IDF patrols in the area.
Jerusalem Post Staff, Keshet Neev, and Idan Kweller contributed to this report.