Defense Minister Yisrael Katz launched a blistering attack on opposition leaders, accusing them of weakening Israeli deterrence and encouraging the country’s enemies by questioning the government’s security warnings ahead of the elections.

“Every attack on Israel and every future terrorist attack, if, chas v’shalom, there are any, will be on the heads of Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennett, Yair Golan and their opposition colleagues,” Katz declared.

His remarks followed security warnings that hostile actors could attempt attacks on the eve of the elections or during voting in an effort to influence the outcome.

Katz accused opposition figures of repeatedly attacking Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and himself while casting doubt on their motives for issuing warnings based on intelligence available to the government.

He stressed that the IDF is prepared, both operationally and from an intelligence standpoint, to carry out preventive and defensive operations against Iran and its proxies across all fronts.

The military, he said, would act immediately under instructions from the political leadership to protect Israeli citizens. Katz maintained that the preparations were taking place “without connection to any political process.”

“It is important that our enemies know that the Guardian of Israel does not slumber,” he added.

Katz argued that accusations that the government’s warnings were politically motivated reflected his critics’ own “disconnect and narrow political considerations,” and claimed their statements encouraged Israel’s enemies to act.

He pledged that he and Netanyahu would continue acting forcefully “at any time and in any place” to safeguard the public.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid responded with an equally sharp statement, calling Katz’s remarks “reckless and hysterical” and “a gift to Israel’s enemies.”

“Once again, this government of failure is looking for excuses and people to blame for the failures of Netanyahu and the incompetents around him,” Lapid said.

“They failed to eradicate Hamas, failed to bring down Iran, failed to eliminate Hezbollah, failed in the international arena—and now they blame the opposition.”

Lapid accused the government of demonstrating cowardice and admitting that it could not run the country or provide security for its citizens.

“In their desperation to escape an election defeat, they are now turning the security of the State of Israel into a circus,” he said.

“If they remain, there will be more October 7s, more Flydubai incidents and a further strengthening of Iran,” Lapid warned.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)