Liberman Requests Treason Probe of Netanyahu With One Day Until Vote

With Israel’s general election scheduled for Tuesday, opposition leader Avigdor Liberman asked Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara on Monday to open a criminal investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for suspected treason.

The request stems from a Sunday report by N12 television, which stated that Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir clashed over a proposed military operation. The broadcaster reported the disagreement involved a plan that could trigger a confrontation with Iran just two days before the vote.

Liberman told 103FM that the prime minister appeared to be pushing for military action to prevent the election from proceeding. He characterized the move as a betrayal of the state and its security structure.

"The man has gone off the rails," Liberman said during the interview. "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?"

The Yisrael Beytenu chairman argued that the chief of staff has a duty to prevent the military from serving political ends. He maintained that any action risking war must be subject to a full government decision.

Defense Minister Israel Katz rejected the claims, stating there was no strain between the political leadership and the IDF. He described coordination on the Iran issue as complete since taking office and said Israel had no intention of initiating an attack before the election.

Katz called the reports entirely false and accused opposition figures of exploiting the situation to cast doubt on the government's judgment. He labeled the effort shameful and irresponsible, adding that the government would overcome the challenge.