Israel Is on High Alert After Terror Attack And Fears War Will Disrupt Election

“Will a war be launched this weekend to disrupt the election?” That’s a common query here in Israel as final opinion polls are made public Friday.To prevent skewing election results, Israeli law bans the press from issuing polls after Friday. While widely varying, most polls show a tie. New military escalation in the next few days could change minds, although it is far from clear in which direction. A war to end Iran’s menace has been discussed widely in recent days. Yet an incident Friday could also lead to a major uptick in military activity in Judea and Samaria. Arab gunmen shot their way to martyrdom near Hebron, killing two Israel Defense Forces officers in the process.The right wing internal security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, was first to arrive on the scene. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz followed. The premier vowed to launch an “unprecedented” response inside Hebron and nearby camps. He instructed the IDF to go “house to house,” to destroy homes and expel terror suspects from the area.“If that is such an effective measure, why didn’t Bibi do it before?” a former IDF spokesman identified with the anti-Bibi camp, Nachman Shai, told i24 news. He expressed common skepticism among critics of the prime minister’s conduct. They say the premier’s promise of post-October 7 ”total victory” has failed to materialize in the three years since that massacre. “There are clear warnings from military intelligence and the Mossad that Iran and its proxies are considering ways to influence the elections,” Mr. Netanyahu told the Jerusalem Post this week. “If they do, it’ll be a big mistake for them because we’ll respond with force and might.” On a high alert, the IDF has cancelled troop leaves for the time being. Iran and its allies — Hezbollah, Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank, the Houthis, Shiite Iraqi militias — are “highly motivated,” an intelligence source tells The New York Sun. “Even forcing a few hours delay in the vote on Tuesday would be a victory for them,” he added. Hamas took responsibility for the Friday terror attack near Hebron. Mr. Netanyahu’s detractors, though, say that the premier’s tough talk in the attack’s aftermath is mostly meant to motivate right wing voters to go to the polls next week.“Anything could happen but I know of no specific warnings,” a former Shin Bet chief, Yoram Cohen, said this week. Mr. Netanyahu’s “decisions are influenced by ulterior motives, and that is very troubling,” he added.Mr. Cohen is a member of the Yashar party that leads most opinion polls. Mr. Netanyahu’s top contender, Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot, was careful not to criticize the premier as details of the Hebron attack emerged. A former IDF chief of staff, Mr. Eisenkot lost a son and a nephew in the war in Gaza. He refrained from criticizing Mr. Netanyahu over the Friday attack, expressing solidarity with relatives and friends of the two dead soldiers instead. “My heart is with the families in their hour of hardship,” he said in a statement. “Strengthening the hands of the security forces, who work day and night in all sectors for the security of the State of Israel and its citizens.”Mr. Netanyahu denied reports in America that Israel was planning an attack on Iran last week, but was blocked by President Trump. The American and Israeli leaders, though, are signaling that settling the Iran war could happen after Tuesday and the November 3 American midterms.“We’re gonna have Iran finished very soon, one way or the other,” Mr. Trump said Friday. The White House, meanwhile, is reportedly operating on the assumption that Israel’s Tuesday election would end in an impasse, as neither Netanayhu, nor the opposition bloc led by Mr. Eisenkot, can cobble together the necessary coalition backed by at least 61 Knesset members. According to the final poll issued by Kan News Friday, Mr. Eisenkot’s central-oriented opposition bloc would amount to 52 Knesset members, while Mr. Netnayahu’s right wing would enter the next legislator body with 50 members. With 14 representatives, Arab parties could get the opposition to a majority. Mr. Eisenkot, though, says he would not rely on “non-Zionist” parties to win the premiership.

Israel Is on High Alert After Terror Attack And Fears War Will Disrupt Election

Israel Is on High Alert After Terror Attack And Fears War Will Disrupt Election

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