Israeli defense minister denies Netanyahu-IDF rift over Iran attack plans

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - JERUSALEM — Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday dismissed reports of a clash between Benjamin Netanyahu and the army over plans to strike Iran, calling them “completely baseless and false” and insisting Israel had “absolutely no intention” of attacking Tehran before Tuesday’s parliament election.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Sunday, citing unnamed sources, that there had been a confrontation between Netanyahu and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief Eyal Zamir over an unspecified new directive.

The premier dismissed the report as “rubbish” during a TV appearance, and Katz characterised it as an effort to cast doubt on the Netanyahu bloc’s judgment on the eve of close elections.

“The reports about gaps between the political echelon and the IDF (army) on the Iran issue are entirely baseless and false,” Katz said on X, insisting there was “complete” coordination between the two.

In its report, Channel 12 said Zamir had demanded a detailed discussion as well as legal guarantees and the signatures of the political leadership before carrying out the directive he had received.

The outlet did not offer details of the directive, but cited sources saying there were concerns within the army that the war might be exploited for political gain.

Katz said unequivocally that there was no intention on Israel’s part to initiate an attack on Iran before the elections.”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid referenced the report in a post on X Sunday, accusing Netanyahu of seeking to put off the vote.

“Tonight it was published that he wants to set off an escalation and a confrontation with Iran, just to postpone the elections,” he said.

Netanyahu has campaigned heavily on his security credentials, arguing that only he can finish the job in the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Meanwhile, a prominent Trump ally on Sunday said far-right politicians ​Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich should not serve in Israel’s next government, saying they had caused enormous damage to the country’s reputation.

The public intervention by billionaire US investor Bill Ackman, who is Jewish, comes just two days before Israel’s general election.

Ackman wrote on X that from the perspective of someone who had an understanding of how Israel was perceived in the United States, “Ben-Gvir and Smotrich ‌have caused Israel ‌enormous reputational damage with their statements and actions.”

The founder ​of ⁠Pershing Square Capital Management, who praised Netanyahu last week, said a government without the two ministers would send a message that Israel was “turning a new page.”

“This will allow Israel to rebuild lost credibility, increase the opportunity for an expansion of the Abraham Accords, and enjoy a better relationship with Democrats and Republicans and Americans at large,” he said.

As ministers ​in Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist coalition, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich ‌have overseen policies widely perceived as discriminatory against Israel’s minority Arab population and Palestinians ‌living in the occupied West Bank.

Ackman, who was visiting Israel last week, ⁠and who along with ⁠his wife Neri Oxman owns 5 percent of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, supported Donald Trump’s candidacy for president in 2024. Trump last week publicly endorsed Netanyahu for prime minister.

Nimrod Goren, the president of Israeli think tank Mitvim, said Ackman’s statement appeared to reflect a desire among Trump’s circles for Netanyahu to drop his far-right allies after the vote to form a ‘unity government’ with opposition parties.

However, Gadi Eisenkot, the leading challenger to Netanyahu, and other opposition party leaders have ruled out forming a government with Israel’s longest-serving prime minister.