• A worker hangs an election billboard for the Democratic Party featuring its leader, Yair Golan, alongside an image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, in occupied Palestine, Oct. 19, 2026 (AP)

Israeli opposition leader Yair Golan accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of putting his political survival before "Israel’s security", warning against another war ahead of the upcoming elections.

In a post on X, Golan called Netanyahu “a sick and weak leader, who clings to power by force and is willing to endanger Israel’s security to save himself.”

“He has no legitimacy to drag Israel into another military campaign for political and personal reasons on the eve of elections,” Golan wrote, adding, “The lives of our soldiers and civilians are not playthings in his struggle for survival.”

Golan called on the military chief of staff and security leaders to uphold their responsibility to Israeli security, writing: “Your responsibility is solely to Israel’s security. You have a duty to stand as an unyielding wall against any attempt to exploit the Israeli military for political purposes.”

He also urged security officials to “block any military move intended to serve personal interests under the guise of security needs.”

“The battle for Israel’s security will take place on October 27,” Golan wrote, calling on Israelis to go to the polls and “save Israel from the dangerous government of massacre and draft evasion.”

He concluded by pledging that his side could be trusted to “restore security and sanity to Israel” immediately after replacing the government.

The criticism of Netanyahu’s security approach has also extended beyond political opponents, with Israeli media questioning whether the principles he has outlined can be matched by the government’s record and current capabilities.

Maariv challenges Netanyahu’s security vision

The Israeli newspaper Maariv criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s presentation of 10 points forming a so-called “Israeli security concept”, arguing that the principles outlined do not match realities facing the Israeli security and military establishment. 

The points include preventing nuclear weapons acquisition, deterrence, warning, initiative and maneuver, defense, alliances, technology, force-building, awareness, victory, and morale.

The newspaper questioned Netanyahu’s ability to implement the framework following the failures of October 7, 2023. It pointed to two “high-intensity confrontations with Iran” and said "Israel" still failed to prevent Tehran “from possessing approximately 500 kilograms of enriched uranium.” Maariv also argued that “victory” was beyond the military’s capabilities under Netanyahu, citing the failure to achieve its objectives in the war on Gaza and describing Hezbollah in Lebanon as “alive and breathing.”

On alliances, Maariv said closer ties with Gulf states remained distant and questioned whether Netanyahu could bring Saudi Arabia into the normalization agreements. It also reported that "Israel" was facing a budget deficit and had exhausted available funds for purchasing military platforms, including fighter jets, aerial refueling aircraft, attack helicopters, and transport helicopters.

Maariv described Netanyahu’s presentation as “empty in content” and said it “does not contain a real plan to achieve security.” The newspaper further mocked the document, saying that if it had been submitted as an academic paper, it would have been referred to a disciplinary committee over suspicions that it had been copied from artificial intelligence.

The criticism came eight days before the October 27 Knesset elections, with US President Donald Trump openly endorsing Netanyahu’s reelection bid. Netanyahu has also stressed the need to use the remaining two years of Trump’s presidency to advance major Israeli objectives, while Axios reported that opinion polls showed his coalition falling short of the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority.