“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.”
Following Netanyahu’s remarks, opposition leader Yair Lapid asked the Prime Minister’s Office to arrange an urgent security briefing, seeking clarification on whether the threats cited by Netanyahu were concrete and, if so, what steps were being taken to ensure the elections proceed without disruption.
“When there are elections, suddenly he takes warnings seriously,” Lapid said, taking a jab at Netanyahu.
The Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu regularly holds security briefings with Lapid in his capacity as opposition leader, most recently on Sept. 14. Following Lapid’s request, Netanyahu instructed his military secretary to brief the opposition leader later Tuesday on the latest developments, the office said.