Yair Golan, the leader of the Democrats in Israel, has condemned Prime Minister Netanyahu following allegations that the premier planned fresh strikes against Iran just weeks before the upcoming Knesset elections.
Per the Financial Times, Netanyahu was preparing to launch a major new military offensive against the Islamic Republic earlier this month, but US President Trump intervened to prevent the operation from going ahead.
Citing three people familiar with the plans, the newspaper reported on Wednesday that the Israeli prime minister had instructed the military to prepare a sustained bombing campaign for the weekend of October 10.
The proposed operation would reportedly have targeted Iranian nuclear facilities, power plants, civilian infrastructure and sites connected to the regime.
The reported offensive was expected to be more extensive than the joint US-Israeli military campaign launched in February. It was ultimately put aside after Trump opposed renewing the fighting ahead of the US midterm elections on November 3, the report said.
However, the prospect of further attacks has not disappeared. One person familiar with the military planning told the Financial Times that renewed strikes in the coming weeks remained a realistic possibility, potentially involving both countries.
“There will either be a deal or an attack,” the source said.
According to the report, Israeli officials have supplied their American counterparts with an updated list of potential targets, drawing on newly gathered intelligence. Some of the sites reportedly involve civilian infrastructure that was not struck during the previous military campaign.
It is unclear whether the United States had been expected to participate directly in the operation.
Responding to the report, Golan, himself a former IDF deputy chief of staff, wrote on X: “Netanyahu is a sick and weak leader, clinging to power by force and willing to endanger Israel's security to save himself.
“He has no legitimacy to drag Israel into another military campaign based on political and personal considerations, on the eve of elections.
“I call on the IDF chief of staff and security chiefs: It is your duty to stand as a fortified wall against any attempt to exploit the IDF for political purposes. To block any military move designed to serve personal interests under the guise of security needs."
Golan claimed that current intelligence doesn't support attacking Iran, saying that if Netanyahu orders an attack before the election, "it will be a political game."
"There is no intelligence reason to attack Iran now," he told an Israeli radio show. "I'm not saying we won't have to attack Iran later.
“Elections in a democratic country are sacred. We need to hold the elections and there is no intelligence urgency right now to attack Iran. It's all political talk.
“He wants to have a military-security agenda because he thinks it benefits him.”
The Prime Minister's Office did not respond to the Financial Times' requests for comment on its report, while the IDF declined to comment.
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