Jerusalem [Israel], November 5 (ANI): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday warned that “extremist Islam” posed an existential challenge to Israel, calling for a broad national government led by his Likud party and accusing opposition leaders of attempting to form a coalition dependent on Islamist parties.
In a post on X, Netanyahu said the threat to Israel came both from outside, through Iran and its proxies, and from within, through what he described as Islamist parties supporting terrorism.
“Extremist Islam is the challenge tearing apart countries in Europe today. It is the challenge that threatens us as well. It threatens us from the outside through Iran and its proxies, and from within through Islamist parties of terrorism supporters,” he said.
Netanyahu alleged that these parties sought to undermine Israel’s Jewish identity and prevent the country from defending itself against its enemies. He questioned whether a government dependent on such parties would be capable of addressing the security challenges facing the country.
“What is certain is that a government dependent on extremist Islam and these Islamist parties, which deny the very existence of a Jewish state, will not be able to confront the threat of extremist Islam,” he said.
The Israeli Prime Minister further accused representatives of these parties of expressing support for Hamas and members of its Nukhba unit, who are imprisoned in Israel. He argued that such a coalition would weaken the country from within.
Calling for an alternative, Netanyahu said a broad national government led by Likud and including all components of the national bloc and Zionist parties willing to join could confront the challenges facing Israel.
He also accused leaders of the left-wing bloc of pursuing a narrow minority government dependent on parties he described as supporters of terrorism, alleging that they were placing political interests above national considerations.
The remarks come amid an ongoing political dispute following Israel’s recent elections, with opposition parties seeking to form a government and Netanyahu pushing for a broad coalition.
Netanyahu also called for a thorough investigation into alleged foreign interference in the elections, citing suspicions that foreign countries had spent substantial sums to influence the results.
“There are serious suspicions of foreign countries’ involvement with vast sums of money to influence the election results in the State of Israel,” he said, adding that the integrity of elections was fundamental to democracy.
Earlier, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet, reportedly informed the Central Elections Committee that intelligence gathered so far pointed to widespread foreign funding and influence operations during the election campaign.
According to The Times of Israel, Shin Bet told the committee that the alleged funding came from foreign countries and actors with “concealed and even hostile interests”, while stressing that further investigative work was required to establish the scale of the activity with a high degree of certainty.
The claims have drawn criticism from opposition leaders. Yair Lapid accused the Shin Bet chief’s statements of undermining the possibility of a unity government led by Netanyahu, while Yair Golan, head of the Democrats party, alleged that the agency was being used as a political tool.
Meanwhile, Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Change bloc, said opposition parties were committed to protecting the election results, claiming that voters had clearly backed a change in government.
The Central Elections Committee has approved the election results, which are to be submitted to Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Herzog is expected to consult party leaders on who they support for prime minister before deciding whom to task with forming the next government. (ANI)
