“There are signs that ahead of the election our enemies will try to attack us,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday during a visit to the Israeli Air Force’s Tel Nof base.
“From here, from the Air Force base, from the long arm of the State of Israel, I send you a message: Don’t mess with us, not now and not ever,” Netanyahu said. “Our long arm will reach you anywhere and at any time.”
Netanyahu at the Israeli Air Force’s Tel Nof base
(Photo: GPO)
Netanyahu’s remarks came 28 days before Israel’s Oct. 27 Knesset election. They also came about three weeks after a Cabinet meeting in which the prime minister said: “Israel is stronger than ever, our enemies are weaker than ever.”
At that meeting, Netanyahu also addressed the situation with Iran. “They are not attacking us,” he said. “Iran is refraining from doing so, and it knows why.”
Netanyahu added at the time: “I say to our enemies: Don’t mess with us. This nation knows how to unite in moments of trial, and right now it is the strongest power in the Middle East, and some say beyond it.”
“The regime in Iran, its end is near,” he continued. “It is weak, it is fighting for its life, it is faltering.”