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Senior Israeli military officials suspect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may seek to escalate the situation in the Gaza Strip in an attempt to disrupt or delay the country’s upcoming parliamentary elections, Israeli media reported.
Israeli daily Maariv cited assessments within the upper ranks of the Israeli army that Netanyahu does not want the current conflicts to come to an end and could seek renewed escalation in Gaza as the election approaches.
According to the report, senior military officials are increasingly concerned that political considerations could influence decisions on further military action.
Officers have made clear that the army does not intend to be drawn into another conflict without a clear security necessity, saying: “We will not enter a new and unnecessary war.”
The reported concerns come amid growing debate in Israel over Netanyahu’s handling of the country’s multiple fronts and accusations from opposition figures that he is using security issues for political purposes ahead of the election.
READ: Israeli premier turns to anti-Turkiye campaign as polls show Likud losing ground
Netanyahu has recently stepped up his rhetoric against Turkiye following an Israeli attack on the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in northern Syria.
Israeli opposition figures, including former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Democrats party leader Yair Golan, have accused Netanyahu of deliberately escalating tensions with Ankara for political considerations.
Israeli security officials have also reportedly warned against an “unnecessary” escalation with Turkiye, expressing concern that public statements by Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz could further inflame tensions.
The reported disagreement with the military comes as Netanyahu faces a difficult electoral landscape, with recent opinion polls showing his governing bloc falling short of the parliamentary majority needed to form a government.
Israel is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections in October.
READ: Growing international pressure puts Israel under diplomatic strain: Israeli media
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
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