Israel’s Lapid accuses Netanyahu of ‘fear-mongering’ over attack warning

Opposition leader dismisses Netanyahu’s warning of possible attacks during next month’s general election.

Opposition leader and former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid speaks during a party event on September 6, 2026, in Tel Aviv, Israel [Erik Marmor/Getty Images]

Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid has accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “fear-mongering” after the incumbent leader warned that the country’s enemies may attack before next month’s general election .

Lapid, who heads the Yesh Atid party, dismissed the warning after meeting the prime minister on Tuesday.

list 1 of 3 Satellite images show Gaza in ruins three years into Israel’s genocidal war

list 2 of 3 Israeli settlers attack Jalud village in occupied West Bank pogrom

list 3 of 3 Palestine weekly: Israeli politicians vie to look toughest before election

Earlier in the day, Netanyahu posted an online video that showed him posing in front of a fighter jet at a military base and saying there were “indications that, ahead of the elections, our enemies will try to attack us”.

He did not specify which enemy he had in mind. But in recent weeks, he has issued warnings to Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Palestinian Authority, promising retaliation in the event of an attack.

Lapid requested an urgent security briefing after the warning, and in an online post afterwards, he said he was certain the election would take place on time and that “there is no reason to panic the public”.

“The elections will take place on time, and no one has an excuse to disrupt them,” he said.

He accused Netanyahu of using military bases as “props for election campaign videos” and of failing to heed warnings before the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, which set off Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. More than 76,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war.

“Netanyahu ignored every warning before October 7, and now, 28 days before the election, he’s suddenly busy fear-mongering,” Lapid said. He added: “I of course will not violate the confidentiality of the security briefing but it must be said — security threats must be handled professionally and responsibly.”

The election, scheduled for October 7, is Israel’s first vote since the Hamas-led attacks, which plunged the Middle East into turmoil as Israel went to war in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. The election could determine whether Netanyahu remains in power after one of the most consequential periods in Israel’s history, or is defeated by centrist rivals promising to usher in a new era.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, was first elected prime minister in 1996. In recent weeks, he has had to deny media reports that his partners in the Middle East warned him of a potential Hamas attack, an allegation his political rivals have seized on.

Polls show him in a close race to stay in power.

According to a Reuters polling average, no candidate has a clear path to power. The average shows Yashar, the party of Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief who has emerged as Netanyahu’s most formidable rival, leading the prime minister’s right-wing Likud party by 2 points.

Based on the average, parties opposed to Netanyahu would hold 64 seats in the 120-member Knesset, 15 more than the parties that back him, but they may be unable to form a coalition.

Lapid is one of several opposition figures in the race. He, Eisenkot and other opposition leaders have agreed to coordinate to remove Netanyahu’s government. Under the agreement announced last week, each leader pledged to work in their constituencies to increase turnout and attract support from various sectors of society to secure a majority and form a new government.

The prime minister said in a separate post on Tuesday that he has held a security briefing with Lapid in which he raised alerts about possible attacks “on the various fronts ahead of the elections”.

He stressed that he holds regular briefings with the opposition leader.

反对党领袖驳斥了内塔尼亚胡关于下个月大选期间可能发生袭击的警告。

2026年9月6日，反对党领袖、以色列前总理亚伊尔·拉皮德在以色列特拉维夫举行的一次党内活动上发表讲话。[Erik Marmor/Getty Images]

以色列反对派领导人亚伊尔·拉皮德指责总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡“散布恐慌”，此前这位现任领导人警告称，该国的敌人可能会在下个月的大选前发动袭击。

领导未来党的拉皮德在周二会见总理后驳斥了这一警告。

列表 1/3：卫星图像显示，以色列发动种族灭绝战争三年后，加沙地带已成废墟。

以色列定居者袭击被占领的西岸贾卢德村，引发骚乱（共3起，此为第2起）

巴勒斯坦周刊（共3篇）第3篇：以色列政客在选举前竞相展现强硬形象

当天早些时候，内塔尼亚胡在网上发布了一段视频，视频中他站在一个军事基地的一架战斗机前摆姿势，并表示“有迹象表明，在大选之前，我们的敌人将试图攻击我们”。

他没有具体说明指的是哪个敌人。但最近几周，他已向伊朗、哈马斯、真主党和巴勒斯坦权力机构发出警告，承诺一旦遭到袭击将进行报复。

拉皮德在收到警告后要求紧急召开安全简报会，随后在网上发帖称，他确信选举将按时举行，“没有理由引起公众恐慌”。

他说：“选举将按时举行，任何人都没有理由干扰选举。”

他指责内塔尼亚胡将军事基地用作“竞选视频的道具”，并且无视哈马斯领导的2023年10月7日袭击事件前的警告，该袭击事件引发了以色列对加沙的种族灭绝战争。这场战争已造成超过76000名巴勒斯坦人丧生。

拉皮德说：“内塔尼亚胡在10月7日之前对所有警告都置之不理，而现在，距离大选还有28天，他突然开始散布恐慌。” 他补充道：“我当然不会泄露安全简报的机密性，但必须指出的是——安全威胁必须以专业和负责任的态度来处理。”

定于10月7日举行的选举是以色列自哈马斯领导的袭击事件以来的首次选举。哈马斯的袭击事件使中东陷入动荡，以色列随即对加沙、黎巴嫩和伊朗发动战争。此次选举结果将决定内塔尼亚胡能否在以色列历史上最具影响力的时期之一后继续执政，还是会被承诺开启新时代的中间派竞争对手击败。

内塔尼亚胡是以色列任期最长的领导人，他于1996年首次当选总理。最近几周，他不得不否认媒体报道，称他在中东的合作伙伴曾警告他哈马斯可能发动袭击，他的政治对手抓住这一指控大做文章。

民调显示，他的连任之路十分胶着。

根据路透社的民调平均值，目前尚无任何候选人拥有明确的执政前景。该平均值显示，前军事首长加迪·艾森科特领导的亚沙尔党领先于总理内塔尼亚胡的右翼利库德集团2个百分点。艾森科特已成为内塔尼亚胡最强劲的竞争对手。

根据平均情况来看，反对内塔尼亚胡的政党将在120个席位的以色列议会中占据64个席位，比支持他的政党多15个席位，但他们可能无法组成联合政府。

拉皮德是此次选举中几位反对派人士之一。他与艾森科特和其他反对派领导人已达成协议，将共同努力推翻内塔尼亚胡政府。根据上周宣布的协议，每位领导人承诺在其选区开展工作，提高投票率，并争取社会各界的支持，以确保获得多数席位并组建新政府。

总理周二在另一篇帖子中表示，他已与拉皮德举行了安全简报会，会上他提出了“选举前各个战线可能发生的袭击”的警告。

他强调，他会定期与反对党领导人举行简报会。