On the eve of Israel's high pressure legislative elections, the explosive and provocative charge of "treason" is being thrown around.
Former Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman on Monday called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be criminally investigated for the charge of treason, accusing him of fomenting a foreign war for the sole purpose of extending his and Likud's party's rule.
"This morning, I appealed to the Attorney General demanding the opening of a criminal investigation against Benjamin Netanyahu for the charge of treason," Liberman wrote on X.
"In the past month, Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been pressuring the heads of the security establishment to take steps that could create a miscalculation vis-à-vis Iran."
In essence, he's accusing Netanyahu was trying to drag Israel into a war just before the upcoming elections - not on legitimate national security grounds, but for personal political gain.
"The attempt to drag the State of Israel into war on the eve of elections, together with the willingness to sacrifice IDF soldiers solely due to fear of losing the elections, constitutes treason against the state, its security, and the IDF soldiers," the post concluded.
The Guardian reviews of the controversy:
Israel’s Channel 12 news reported that the prime minister and the armed forces chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, clashed in recent days over a directive to the military which could “potentially spark an immediate conflagration with Iran at a very sensitive juncture”, by provoking a miscalculation by Iran.
Netanyahu has vehemently denied the charge.
President Trump has meanwhile written no less than two glowing endorsements of Netanyahu on his Truth Social platform. The posts tout that Netanyahu is a "Great Warrior Prime Minister" and that he can help the US "finish the job" against Iran.
Polls have shown that entering Tuesday's elections Netanyahu remains neck and neck with former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot.
This will be a hugely significant test of public sentiment on Netanyahu's leadership, given it will be the first national vote since Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and ensuing major war in Gaza.