Arya News - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to order the military to prepare for a possible hostile action against Iran just 72 hours before the elections in his country, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing Israeli officials.
Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Gen. Eyal Zamir refused to comply, warning of a potential miscalculation and escalation that could cancel the elections and noting that there was no operational need for such steps, after which Netanyahu backtracked on the plans, the report said. The prime minister has spent weeks in an effort to convince US President Donald Trump to allow for strikes against Iran before the elections, however, the US leader did not agree, the report added. Earlier in the day, the Central Elections Committee said that over 3.2 million Israelis, or 44.9%, cast their votes in the parliamentary elections by 2:00 p.m. local time, which is a turnout not seen since 1973. The main powers in the ruling coalition are the right-wing Likud party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the ultranationalist Religious Zionist Party, Jewish Power, as well as the ultra-Orthodox Torah Judaism and Shas parties. The key opposition forces are the centrist Yashar party led by Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, the centrist Together alliance of former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and the right-wing Israel Our Home party headed by Avigdor Lieberman. According to polls, a joint list of Arab parties and the left-wing Democrats party are also expected to clear the electoral threshold.