Katz says opposition leaders to blame for any future attacks on Israel

Defense Minister Israel Katz lashed out at Israel’s opposition Thursday, saying any future attacks on the country would be the fault of party leaders who have criticized him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for warning of potential attacks in the lead-up to the election.

“Every attack on Israel and all future terrorist attacks, if God forbid there are any, will be the fault of Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennett, Yair Golan, and their friends in the opposition,” Katz said.

Castigating the party leaders, who are challenging the government in next week’s election, Katz said they “don’t stop attacking the prime minister and me and are casting aspersions on our efforts to warn and alert — based on information in our possession — of our enemies’ intentions to attack Israel and carry out terrorist attacks on the eve of the election or during it, in order to influence the election results.”

The defense minister said the military was prepared for any scenario, and any criticism showed “disconnect and narrow political considerations” that harm Israel’s deterrence.

Katz and Netanyahu have recently issued a series of warnings that Israel’s enemies could attack before, or during, Tuesday’s Knesset election. Opposition leaders have expressed concern that such warnings were politically motivated and not based on any concrete intelligence.

In one instance, Netanyahu issued a warning last month, when he said the country had indications that enemies might attempt an attack ahead of the election. The statement sparked public alarm, and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid demanded that Netanyahu share the intelligence with him in a briefing, after which Lapid said there was no reason to fear an imminent attack.

At the time, according to security sources cited by Kan, Haaretz and Army Radio, the IDF had not identified a specific threat of an attack ahead of the election, raised its alert level, or mobilized additional troops in any sector.

Reacting to Katz’s combative statement, Yashar party chairman and election frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot accused the defense minister of “preparing the ground for the next disaster and shifting blame in advance.”

“The absurdity of the defense minister blaming political rivals for enemies’ terror attacks before they occur is an unprecedented low,” Eisenkot wrote on X.

“Our army is strong, but our leadership is rotten and dangerous,” he said, accusing Netanyahu and Katz of putting their political survival above all else.

Lapid, No. 2 on the B’Yachad slate, said Katz’s statement was a “gift to Israel’s enemies.”

“Again, the government of failure is looking for excuses and culprits for the failures of Netanyahu and the band of incompetents around him,” Lapid wrote on X.

“What cowardice. What an admission of their inability to run the country and provide security to its citizens,” he said, adding: “In their desperation to be rescued from electoral defeat, they are turning the Israel’s security into a circus.”

Golan, chairman of the left-wing Democrats party, also responded to Katz: “A statement like this from the defense minister of the State of Israel is mainly a statement that indicates panic and hysteria.”

“This man proves that he is not mentally well. This is an insane, irresponsible statement,” Golan said. “Incitement works and this is an illustration of why it is forbidden to work with these people.”

Recent reports have claimed Netanyahu has been keen to launch strikes on Iran, but has been held back by US President Donald Trump, who wants to wait until after the US midterm elections, which take place a week after Israel’s October 27 vote.

According to a Wednesday report in The New York Times, the US and Israel have drawn up plans for renewed strikes on Iran just after the November 3 midterms, though experts cited in the report said that should Netanyahu lose in Tuesday’s election, it could be difficult for him to order strikes as a caretaker prime minister without a government sworn in behind him.