Benjamin Netanyahu has resorted to increasingly alarmist rhetoric and reportedly put pressure on Israel\u2019s military to take action against Iran as his far-right coalition narrowly trails in the polls ahead of Tuesday\u2019s close-run elections.<\/p>\n
The Israeli prime minister posted an AI-generated image of a nuclear mushroom cloud destroying Tel Aviv, telling Israeli voters to choose him or risk nuclear annihilation.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone who cares about their own physical existence, that of their family, and their loved ones should have a trembling hand before voting for [the opposition],\u201d he wrote in a social media post<\/a> about Iran\u2019s nuclear programme.<\/p>\n An AI-generated image of a nuclear strike on Tel Aviv was posted on Netanyahu\u2019s X account on Sunday. Photograph: X\/Benjamin Netanyahu<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s Channel 12 news reported that the prime minister and the armed forces chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, clashed in recent days over a directive to the military which could \u201cpotentially spark an immediate conflagration with Iran<\/a> at a very sensitive juncture\u201d, by provoking a miscalculation by Iran.<\/p>\n Zamir is reported to have requested the directive, the details of which were not specified, to be presented to him in writing.<\/p>\n Netanyahu denied the report, and the defence ministry later denied any intention to carry out military operations against Iran.<\/p>\n On Monday however, CNN reported that Netanyahu had tried to convince Donald Trump<\/a> to launch a renewed assault on Iran in recent weeks, renewing the war both men started in February.<\/p>\n The report, confirming an earlier account in the Financial Times, said Trump had ruled out any such action until US congressional elections next week.<\/p>\n The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement on Monday that stopped well short of a denial of the press reports. It simply insisted that its decisions were based exclusively on \u201csecurity, professional, objective and national considerations\u201d.<\/p>\n Netanyahu\u2019s warnings were a marked contrast with his triumphalism in the immediate wake of the wars on Iran that launched last year and this spring.<\/p>\n In March Netanyahu said Israeli and US strikes had destroyed<\/a> Iran\u2019s ability to enrich uranium and produce ballistic missiles, and in 2025 he claimed a \u201chistoric victory<\/a>\u201d over Iran that would stand for generations.<\/p>\n Gadi Eisenkot, the leader of the opposition bloc and Netanyahu\u2019s most likely challenger for the prime minister\u2019s job, expressed his confidence in Zamir. \u201cWe won\u2019t allow the IDF to be turned into a pawn in Netanyahu\u2019s survival campaign,\u201d said Eisenkot, who is a retired general.<\/p>\n Gadi Eisenkot, the leader of the opposition bloc, is the most likely challenger to Netanyahu as prime minister. Photograph: Abir Sultan\/EPA<\/p>\n Most polls suggest the mainly centre-right opposition bloc led by Eisenkot is poised to win more seats in Israel\u2019s Knesset than the Netanyahu coalition, but neither would be able to muster the 61 seats necessary for a majority government.<\/p>\n The opposition would most likely be able to gather a majority and topple Netanyahu in coalition with parties representing Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, roughly a fifth of the population. But conservatives inside the Eisenkot bloc have ruled out such a coalition, raising the prospect of a minority government, another round of elections and a possible Netanyahu resurgence.<\/p>\n As the elections drew closer, Netanyahu framed the country\u2019s choice as existential. He told Channel 14, which has acted as his lead cheerleader in the Israeli media: \u201cThere is a single fundamental issue here \u2013 our existence.\u201d<\/p>\n He described the opposition bloc as the \u201cleft\u201d in alliance with Palestinians, and enemies of the country. \u201cWe see what is happening in Europe. The alliance between the left and Islam might destroy the state of Israel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The main opposition parties are rightwing or centre-right, sharing Netanyahu\u2019s adamant opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state, and who have largely supported the war in Gaza. Some opposition leaders have ruled out any kind of political alliance with Palestinian Israeli parties, who could emerge from the elections holding the balance of power in the Knesset. Palestinians in the occupied territories do not have the vote.<\/p>\n The opposition bloc is held together more by its shared antipathy to Netanyahu, who has dominated the Israeli political scene over the past three decades and veered increasingly towards authoritarianism, seeking to limit the independence of the judiciary and turn the police and Shin Bet internal security service into political tools.<\/p>\n The prime minister is also in the midst of a trial on corruption charges, and his legal jeopardy could increase if he loses his grip on power.<\/p>\n Benjamin Netanyahu has been emphasising in his campaign the support he has from Donald Trump. Photograph: Ohad Zwigenberg\/AP<\/p>\n In the closing stages of the campaign, Netanyahu has also emphasised the overt support he enjoys from Donald Trump, who repeated his endorsement on Sunday in a social media post, saying \u201cWhen you go to the Polls please remember that Bibi has been an outstanding warrior prime minister!\u201d<\/p>\n The Israeli outlet Walla News reported that this repeat endorsement was a result of relentless pressure from Netanyahu\u2019s office. It is unclear, however, whether Trump\u2019s support will carry any weight with the electorate. The US president\u2019s earlier \u201ctotal endorsement\u201d on 18 October made no visible difference to the polls.<\/p>\n In one survey, 64% of Israelis questioned said it would not influence their vote, and 17% said it made them less likely to back Netanyahu, against 12% who said it had deepened their resolve to support Netanyahu\u2019s Likud party.<\/p>\n In the closing stages of the closely fought campaign, Netanyahu has also forecast growing financial isolation, saying billions of dollars in annual military aid from the US would dry up soon, and drew a rare public rebuke from the central bank for a repeated claim that Israel could use cryptocurrencies to dodge escalating global sanctions.<\/p>\n \u201cCryptocurrencies cannot serve as a means to circumvent sanctions,\u201d the Bank of Israel said on Sunday evening. \u201cThe right course for the Israeli economy is to maintain economic relations with our primary trading partners and to focus on preventing sanctions and their negative impact on the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n