Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has run into resistance from his own military leadership over a push for action against Iran in the final days before Tuesday’s national election, according to a series of reports from Israeli and U.S. outlets.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported over the weekend that IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir was resisting an order from Netanyahu to carry out unspecified military action. The report described the standoff between the prime minister’s office and the military leadership as unprecedented and indicated the order was tied to Iran.
According to the report, Zamir insisted that Netanyahu provide signed documentation laying out the legal authorization for the action.
Channel 12 reported that Zamir and other senior military officials were concerned the political leadership could lead Israel into a miscalculation with Iran on the eve of the election. A military source quoted in the report warned that the action in question could spark a flare-up with Iran at a sensitive and dramatic moment.
The Times of Israel reported Sunday evening that political sources denied the Channel 12 report.
On Monday, Haaretz reported that the Mossad has also been rocked by internal divisions. According to that report, the intelligence agency’s director, Roman Gofman, has backed Netanyahu’s push to strike Iran before the election, while senior officials within the agency have pushed back.
The reports come as Netanyahu trails former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot in the race. The latest polls suggest that neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor Eisenkot’s opposition bloc is likely to be able to form a government. That outcome would keep Netanyahu in power as caretaker prime minister.
Meanwhile, CNN reported Monday that President Donald Trump declined to back Netanyahu’s request for joint strikes on Iran.
An Israeli source told the network that Netanyahu badly wanted a joint attack on Iran before the election and tried to persuade Trump to join it, but that Trump “did not give a green light.”
Trump has widely been reported to be preparing additional strikes on Iran after the U.S. midterm elections in early November.
Netanyahu turned heads over the weekend when he posted an AI-generated image on social media showing a nuclear blast engulfing Tel Aviv, pushing the message that he alone can prevent such a catastrophe. For decades, Netanyahu has cast himself as Israel’s foremost guardian of security and has argued that Iran is on the verge of obtaining nuclear weapons.
Channel 12 also reported last week that Israeli fighter jets flew over Syria and Iraq, coming very close to the Iranian border. The jets followed a flight path similar to those used in earlier attacks on Iran.
According to sources cited by Channel 12 and reported by The Times of Israel, Israel notified Washington of the flight in advance, describing it as a military exercise and a show of force meant to deter Iran. However, several sources said they believed some Israeli officials may have hoped Iran would fire on the jets, which would have given Israel justification to launch an attack.
[READ MORE: Musk All but Confirms SpaceX Throttled Ukraine’s Starlink Access Amid War With Russia]
