Israel's Opposition Is Running to Netanyahu's Right on Iran

Israel's main challengers to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are arguing he has not been tough enough on Iran, making security policy a central issue ahead of national elections on October 27.

The frontrunner, Gadi Eisenkot, founder of the Yashar party, and other opposition leaders supported Israel's February assault on Iran. That operation was launched by Israel and the United States. In June, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Iran and Israel had agreed to stop attacking each other, and Netanyahu abided by the announcement at the time.

The opposition has since said the halt left Israel's goals unmet. According to the Israel Democracy Institute, 65 to 70 percent of Jewish Israelis believe stopping the war with Iran did not serve Israel's national security interests. In September, at the inauguration of Yashar, Eisenkot said the goal of destroying or dismantling Iran's nuclear programme had not been achieved, citing 440kg of highly enriched uranium.

Yair Lapid, a former prime minister and the current head of the opposition in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, has called for much heavier economic pressure. He told the Atlantic Council that Israel or its alliance should bomb all energy facilities in Iran, especially on Kharg Island, to demolish the Iranian economy to overturn the regime, according to Al Jazeera.

Netanyahu, who leads the right-wing Likud party, had himself lobbied for bombing Iranian civilian energy infrastructure, but the plan was halted after international outcry over potential war crimes and Trump's refusal to back it.

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has gone further in describing regional threats. He described Qatar as an enemy and Turkiye as the new Iran, and said military confrontation between Israel and Turkiye is inevitable.

The sharp language extends beyond Iran policy. Opposition leaders have agreed to coordinate their campaigns ahead of the parliamentary elections in an effort to replace the prime minister. Trump endorsed Netanyahu ahead of the vote, according to Reuters.

For some regional observers, the tone suggests continuity whoever wins. Arab states expect hawks to rule Israel no matter who wins the election, but still sense room for change, according to Times of Israel.