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.
Eisenkot: PM must brief Lapid to ensure threats are not a ‘political stunt’
Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot responded to Netanyahu’s comments later 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.
אם דברי נתניהו ביחס לאיומים הביטחוניים נכונים, הדבר מחייב עדכון מידי של יו״ר האופוזיציה, יאיר לפיד.
זאת, על מנת לוודא שאכן מדובר באיום אמיתי ולא במהלך פוליטי שנועד לפגוע במערכת הבחירות.
אסור בתכלית האיסור לערב בין ביטחון ישראל ובין מערכת הבחירות. גם לא למראית עין.— ישר! עם איזנקוט. (@yashar_eisenkot) September 29, 2026
“Israel’s security must never be conflated with the election campaign,” Eisenkot emphasized. “Not even for appearances’ sake.”
Lapid issued an official response to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) following Netanyahu’s remarks, demanding an urgent security briefing and noting the opposition leader’s desire to understand the threat and the prime minister’s preparations to address it.
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?”
