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Israel's Defense Minister Accuses Opposition of Aiding Enemies
Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a statement on Thursday, October 22, 2026, holding opposition leaders Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennett, and Yair Golan personally responsible for any future attacks or terror incidents against Israel. Katz accused the opposition of undermining national security and deterrence by continuously criticizing the Prime Minister and himself, and by questioning official intelligence warnings of potential enemy attacks.
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What happened
- 01Defense Minister Israel Katz blamed opposition leaders Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennett, and Yair Golan for any future attacks on Israel.
- 02Katz accused the opposition of undermining national security and deterrence by questioning government warnings about potential enemy attacks.
- 03The Defense Minister claimed intelligence indicates hostile actors plan to carry out attacks around the October 27 elections to influence the results.
- 04Opposition leader Yair Lapid condemned Katz's statement as unhinged, hysterical, and a gift to Israel's enemies.
- 05Gadi Eisenkot accused the government of preparing the ground for the next disaster and shifting blame in advance.
- 06According to Ynetnews, the security establishment has not confirmed any concrete intelligence regarding an imminent attack around the election date.
- 07Katz affirmed that the IDF is prepared for preemptive and defensive operations against Iran and its proxies across all fronts.
According to Katz, the government possesses intelligence indicating that hostile elements, including Iran and its proxies, intend to carry out attacks on the eve of or during the upcoming elections to influence the political outcome. The Israeli elections are scheduled to take place next Tuesday, October 27. Katz stated that the IDF is operationally and intelligence-ready to conduct preemptive and defensive actions across all fronts, regardless of the electoral process.
Opposition leaders strongly rejected the Defense Minister's accusations. Yair Lapid called Katz's remarks unhinged, hysterical, and a gift to Israel's enemies, while Gadi Eisenkot described the statement as an unprecedented low and accused the government of shifting blame in advance. Opposition figures also questioned the concrete intelligence behind the government's warnings, accusing the political leadership of exploiting security concerns for election campaign purposes.
Summarized by baba from the reports of 9 newsrooms. Updated
Latest report: Ynetnews. Read Ynetnews’s original
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Israel's Defense Minister Accuses Opposition of Aiding Enemies
