Israeli politician urges treason probe into Benjamin Netanyahu before national election

Former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman urged the attorney general to launch a criminal treason investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, UPI and Yahoo News Canada reported. Lieberman accused Netanyahu of attempting to provoke a military confrontation with Iran to force a postponement of the upcoming parliamentary election. [1][9]

Lieberman, who leads the right-wing Yisrael Beytenu party, stated that Netanyahu pressured security heads into actions that could cause a miscalculation regarding Iran, UPI said. The accusation comes as CBS News reported that tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv to demand accountability for government failures connected to the October 7, 2023 attacks. [1][2]

As FTMQ News reported earlier, Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir recently resisted Netanyahu's orders regarding military action against Iran, demanding written authorization over fears of an immediate escalation before the vote. Meanwhile, Fox News reported that former military chief Gadi Eisenkot has emerged as a primary election challenger to Netanyahu. [3][7][15]

In addition, MS NOW and MSNBC reported that Israeli President Isaac Herzog declared he would not allow foreign influence to dictate his decisions following support for Netanyahu expressed by Donald Trump. CBS News noted that the vote marks Israel's first parliamentary election since the October 2023 attacks. [2][4][5][6]