Netanyahu may start war to delay elections, political rival claims

Without providing evidence to back up his claims, an ex-Shin Bet chief alleges that Netanyahu could soon launch war for political gain.

By World Israel News Staff

A former head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency who is running in the upcoming elections against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested that the premier could deliberately escalate regional tensions to reignite hostilities, potentially delaying the vote. He offered no evidence to substantiate the allegation.

Yoram Cohen, who led the Shin Bet for five years, made the remarks during a radio interview on Friday. Cohen is running second on the Yashar! party list, headed by former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, which is seeking to unseat Netanyahu in the upcoming election.

Netanyahu’s “decisions are influenced by ulterior motives, and that is very troubling,” Cohen alleged.

Asked whether Netanyahu might intentionally escalate regional tensions for political purposes, Cohen said he could not rule out the possibility.

“I don’t want to make unequivocal statements, but a justification for a security situation and escalation can always be found,” Cohen said. “Unfortunately, I cannot rule it out.”

Cohen did not present factual evidence to support his suggestion that Netanyahu might deliberately provoke a renewed conflict to postpone the election.

His comments came amid similar allegations from opposition leader Yair Lapid, the former head of the Yesh Atid party, who said recently that he believed Netanyahu could order strikes against Iran in an effort to delay the vote, currently scheduled for October 27.

“I trust the army, I trust the [IDF] chief of staff. I don’t trust Netanyahu on security matters. He cannot be trusted,” Lapid told Channel 12 in an interview broadcast on Saturday.

“There is no intelligence – and I am familiar with the most sensitive intelligence – that justifies preventing elections from taking place in Israel,” he added. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t attack Iran. But there is no intelligence justification for an attack on Iran that would disrupt the elections.”

Like Cohen, Lapid did not provide publicly available evidence demonstrating that Netanyahu was considering military action for the purpose of postponing the election.