Benjamin Netanyahu has resorted to increasingly alarmist rhetoric and reportedly put pressure on Israel’s military to take action against Iran as his far-right coalition narrowly trails in the polls ahead of Tuesday’s close-run elections.
uncertain
coalition → resort → elections
The Israeli prime minister posted an AI-generated image of a nuclear mushroom cloud destroying Tel Aviv, telling Israeli voters to choose him or risk nuclear annihilation.
“Anyone who cares about their own physical existence, that of their family, and their loved ones should have a trembling hand before voting for [the opposition],” he wrote in a social media post about Iran’s nuclear programme.
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he → post → programme
Israel’s Channel 12 news reported that the prime minister and the armed forces chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, clashed in recent days over a directive to the military which could “potentially spark an immediate conflagration with Iran at a very sensitive juncture”, by provoking a miscalculation by Iran.
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which → report → Iran
Zamir is reported to have requested the directive, the details of which were not specified, to be presented to him in writing.
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details → report → writing
Netanyahu denied the report, and the defence ministry later denied any intention to carry out military operations against Iran.
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ministry → deny → Iran
On Monday however, CNN reported that Netanyahu had tried to convince Donald Trump to launch a renewed assault on Iran in recent weeks, renewing the war both men started in February.
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men → report → February
The report, confirming an earlier account in the Financial Times, said Trump had ruled out any such action until US congressional elections next week.
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Trump → confirm → elections
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement on Monday that stopped well short of a denial of the press reports.
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that → issue → reports
It simply insisted that its decisions were based exclusively on “security, professional, objective and national considerations”.
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decisions → insist → considerations
Netanyahu’s warnings were a marked contrast with his triumphalism in the immediate wake of the wars on Iran that launched last year and this spring.
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that → launch → Iran
In March Netanyahu said Israeli and US strikes had destroyed Iran’s ability to enrich uranium and produce ballistic missiles, and in 2025 he claimed a “historic victory” over Iran that would stand for generations.
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that → say → generations
Gadi Eisenkot, the leader of the opposition bloc and Netanyahu’s most likely challenger for the prime minister’s job, expressed his confidence in Zamir.
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Eisenkot → express → Zamir
“We won’t allow the IDF to be turned into a pawn in Netanyahu’s survival campaign,” said Eisenkot, who is a retired general.
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who → allow → campaign
Most polls suggest the mainly centre-right opposition bloc led by Eisenkot is poised to win more seats in Israel’s Knesset than the Netanyahu coalition, but neither would be able to muster the 61 seats necessary for a majority government.
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neither → suggest → government
The opposition would most likely be able to gather a majority and topple Netanyahu in coalition with parties representing Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, roughly a fifth of the population.
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opposition → gather → population
But conservatives inside the Eisenkot bloc have ruled out such a coalition, raising the prospect of a minority government, another round of elections and a possible Netanyahu resurgence.
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conservatives → rule → elections
As the elections drew closer, Netanyahu framed the country’s choice as existential.
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Netanyahu → draw → choice
He told Channel 14, which has acted as his lead cheerleader in the Israeli media: “There is a single fundamental issue here – our existence.”
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which → tell → media
He described the opposition bloc as the “left” in alliance with Palestinians, and enemies of the country.
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He → describe → country
“We see what is happening in Europe.
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what → see → Europe
The alliance between the left and Islam might destroy the state of Israel,” he said.
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he → destroy → Israel
The main opposition parties are rightwing or centre-right, sharing Netanyahu’s adamant opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state, and who have largely supported the war in Gaza.
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who → share → Gaza
Some opposition leaders have ruled out any kind of political alliance with Palestinian Israeli parties, who could emerge from the elections holding the balance of power in the Knesset.
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who → rule → Knesset
Palestinians in the occupied territories do not have the vote.
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Palestinians → occupy → vote
The opposition bloc is held together more by its shared antipathy to Netanyahu, who has dominated the Israeli political scene over the past three decades and veered increasingly towards authoritarianism, seeking to limit the independence of the judiciary and turn the police and Shin Bet internal security service into political tools.
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who → hold → tools
The prime minister is also in the midst of a trial on corruption charges, and his legal jeopardy could increase if he loses his grip on power.
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he → increase → power
In the closing stages of the campaign, Netanyahu has also emphasised the overt support he enjoys from Donald Trump, who repeated his endorsement on Sunday in a social media post, saying “When you go to the Polls please remember that Bibi has been an outstanding warrior prime minister!”
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Bibi → close → Polls
The Israeli outlet Walla News reported that this repeat endorsement was a result of relentless pressure from Netanyahu’s office.
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endorsement → report → office
It is unclear, however, whether Trump’s support will carry any weight with the electorate.
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support → carry → electorate
The US president’s earlier “total endorsement” on 18 October made no visible difference to the polls.
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endorsement → make → polls
In one survey, 64% of Israelis questioned said it would not influence their vote, and 17% said it made them less likely to back Netanyahu, against 12% who said it had deepened their resolve to support Netanyahu’s Likud party.
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it → question → party
In the closing stages of the closely fought campaign, Netanyahu has also forecast growing financial isolation, saying billions of dollars in annual military aid from the US would dry up soon, and drew a rare public rebuke from the central bank for a repeated claim that Israel could use cryptocurrencies to dodge escalating global sanctions.
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Israel → close → sanctions
“Cryptocurrencies cannot serve as a means to circumvent sanctions,” the Bank of Israel said on Sunday evening.
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Bank → serve → evening
“The right course for the Israeli economy is to maintain economic relations with our primary trading partners and to focus on preventing sanctions and their negative impact on the economy.”
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course → maintain → economy
Netanyahu had already laid out a forecast for a bleak, isolated future a year ago, when he said Israel might need to become a militarised “super Sparta”, then rowed back again in the face of fierce criticism from a horrified Israeli public.
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Israel → lay → public
His return to this rhetoric and the tactics of fear, particularly after unexpected losses for far-right allies in Serbia and Brazil, raised questions about whether the ultimate political survivor may finally be on the ropes.
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survivor → raise → ropes
Few among his allies or enemies expected his government to survive long after 7 October, much less complete its term.
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government → expect → term
But the majority of polls have been clear for more than two years that his current coalition looks set to lose its slim majority.
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coalition → set → majority
The Aporia
