Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could drag the region to the brink of a new war to protect his political future. In an interview with Israel's Channel 12, Barak argued that Netanyahu could use the military tension with Lebanon and Iran for his political gain.
Barak suggested that if Netanyahu realizes he will lose the general elections scheduled for October 2026, he could put different scenarios into play. The former prime minister said, 'If Netanyahu realizes a few days before the elections that he will lose, it is likely that he will order attacks on targets in the city of Nabatieh (in southern Lebanon).'
According to the scenario Barak foresees, Hezbollah would respond to such an attack with drone strikes on Israel. Then, with the Israeli army targeting the Dahieh district south of Beirut, the clashes would not remain limited to Hezbollah and would turn into a war with Iran.
The former prime minister also claimed that Netanyahu could attempt to disrupt the election process. Barak said, 'As soon as Netanyahu realizes he will lose, he will not hesitate to take extremely dangerous steps to undermine the elections. We could witness provocative attempts to raid vote counting centers on election day.'
Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Liberman also drew attention to the possibility that Netanyahu might take a military step for 'election purposes' in similar warnings on May 14.
Haaretz newspaper's military analyst Amos Harel, in his assessment published on April 24, stated that the Netanyahu government aims to launch a new offensive on Gaza in line with election calculations. Harel also noted that some officials in the government are waiting for Hamas to make a 'big mistake' by firing rockets at Israel.
