Liberman asks AG to probe Netanyahu for treason before Sunday vote

Israel heads into its general election on October 27 amid a sharp public dispute between the prime minister and the head of the military. The conflict has centered on whether political leaders sought to trigger a confrontation with Iran to alter the electoral timeline.

On Monday, Avigdor Liberman, chairman of the Yisrael Beytenu party, formally requested that Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara open a criminal investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Liberman asked the office to examine the prime minister on suspicion of treason. The request is a procedural step and does not indicate that formal proceedings have begun or that wrongdoing has been proven.

The petition follows a report published by N12 on Sunday. The broadcaster stated that Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir argued over a proposed military operation. Liberman claimed on social media that the prime minister attempted to force military action to prevent the vote from occurring. He characterized the alleged behavior as a betrayal of the state's security interests.

Speaking to 103FM on Monday, Liberman described the prime minister's actions as erratic. "The man has gone off the rails," Liberman said. "One day he's preparing a crypto bomb for us, and the next day an atomic bomb. He just said he had destroyed all of Iran's bombs, and now he's dropping bombs on Tel Aviv?" He argued that the chief of staff has a duty to keep the military from serving political ends.

Liberman asserted that relations between the military and political leadership have reached a point of maximum strain. He blamed Netanyahu for trying to provoke a miscalculation with Iran. He maintained that any action with the potential to lead to war requires a full government decision.

Defense Minister Israel Katz rejected the accusations. He stated there was no strain between the IDF and the political leadership and described coordination on the Iran issue as complete since taking office. Katz said Israel had no intention of initiating an attack before the elections and called reports to the contrary entirely false.

Katz accused opposition figures of using the reports to cast doubt on the government's judgment during a sensitive period. He labeled the effort shameful and irresponsible and said the government would overcome the challenge.