Visiting Be’eri, Liberman says he’s ‘concerned’ Netanyahu will start a war to aid election

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman warns that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may launch a new military operation to boost his standing ahead of the upcoming national election, and calls on the IDF’s top brass to act responsibly.

“I am very concerned, and I have every basis for concern, that the October 7 prime minister, upon the filing of the bill to dissolve the Knesset, will start a military move that is not intended for a decisive victory, but is intended for election purposes only,” Liberman tells reporters at Kibbutz Be’eri on the Gaza border.

“I am warning in advance, and appealing to the heads of the military: This is also your responsibility, we are talking about the lives of our soldiers. There must not be a military move for election purposes only,” the former defense minister adds, without offering any proof for his claim.

Liberman also slams Netanyahu’s government for failing to defeat Hamas, insisting that “we are seeing before our very eyes, that the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip is beginning without Hamas having any intention of disarming.”

“Hamas’s terror army is recruiting new terrorists, training, and already preparing for the next campaign. The funding is no longer coming via suitcases, but by way of trucks arriving with the authorization of the Israeli government,” he says.

“Hamas’s grip within the Strip has never been tighter than it is today,” Liberman adds, warning that “if we do not know how to defeat our enemies now,” explosive drones will end up targeting all parts of Israel.