Netanyahu warns Israel’s enemies may try to launch attack ahead of October election

Israel’s enemies could launch an attack before the October 27 election, Prime Minister Netanyahu warns.

By World Israel News Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tuesday that Israel has detected indications that its enemies may attempt to strike the country in the run-up to next month’s Knesset election, delivering the message during a visit to one of the Israeli Air Force’s principal bases.

Speaking at Tel Nof Airbase, Netanyahu did not identify which adversary he was referring to or disclose the intelligence underlying the warning, which came 28 days before Israelis are due to vote on October 27.

“There are signs that ahead of the election our enemies will try to attack us,” Netanyahu said.

Standing at the airbase, the prime minister responded with a warning of his own, pointing to Israel’s ability to strike adversaries far beyond its borders.

“Don’t mess with us, not now and not ever,” he said, adding that Israel could reach its enemies wherever they operate.

Netanyahu’s comments were not accompanied by an announcement of changes to Home Front Command instructions or other publicly disclosed emergency measures, and it was not immediately clear whether he was referring to a specific impending threat or to broader intelligence assessments surrounding the election period.

The warning nevertheless comes against a backdrop of concerns already raised by Israeli security and political officials over possible efforts by Iran and other hostile actors to interfere with the election, including through influence operations and potentially through physical attacks.

A classified Knesset intelligence subcommittee meeting in July brought together Shin Bet chief David Zini, Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg and other senior officials to discuss threats surrounding the vote.

At the public portion of the meeting, committee chairman Boaz Bismuth said the election campaign would be “a prime target for Israel’s enemies” and warned of the possibility of attacks on Israeli political figures.

“There is also a real concern over physical attacks against elected officials and candidates,” Bismuth said.

Israeli media subsequently reported that Zini had himself warned participants that Iran and other foreign actors were seeking to interfere in the election. According to those reports, security officials were particularly concerned about foreign efforts to deepen existing divisions inside Israeli society and potentially target candidates or officeholders.

Netanyahu’s remarks Tuesday also echoed a series of increasingly forceful warnings he has directed at Iran in recent weeks.

At a Cabinet meeting earlier this month, Netanyahu said Tehran had so far refrained from attacking Israel because it understood the consequences of doing so.

He warned that any decision to launch another attack would bring a response of a scale Iran had not anticipated.

He also argued that the balance of power in the region had shifted dramatically in Israel’s favor following successive military campaigns against Iran and its allies.

“The regime in Iran, its end is near,” Netanyahu said at the time, describing Tehran as weakened and struggling for survival.