Eisenkot and Lapid call Netanyahu's security doctrine 'hollow' as Iran says he wants war to avoid jail

Israel’s two main opposition leaders tore into Benjamin Netanyahu’s new security doctrine on Monday, calling it a set of slogans dressed up for the election, as Iran’s foreign minister accused the prime minister of dragging the United States into another war to keep himself out of prison.

Israelis vote on 27 October. Netanyahu’s two-page doctrine, drew sharp replies from the men hoping to replace him.

“Hollow,” said Gadi Eisenkot, the former army chief, describing the document as “filled with slogans that have absolutely nothing to do with a security doctrine.” Yair Lapid, the opposition leader, called it “a collection of inflated slogans devoid of substance.” Both said it was a campaign move.

Lapid’s own offer

Lapid used the moment to set out his own line, which in places is harder than the government’s. He pledged to end what he called the “policy of containment”, to keep Turkey and Qatar out of any postwar arrangements for Gaza, and to intensify operations against Iran, including its oil industry. He also promised to recruit 20,000 ultra-Orthodox men into the army within two years, an issue that has split Netanyahu’s coalition.

Trump’s endorsement and Tehran’s reply

The row follows Donald Trump’s open backing of Netanyahu. “Bibi Netanyahu has been Strong, Brave, and Brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition,” the US president wrote on Truth Social, warning that if Israelis picked someone else the US “will have to do this work ourselves”. Netanyahu thanked him on X: “Together we will complete the mission!”

Tehran’s answer came from Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. “Netanyahu is driving America into another war to stay out of jail,” he wrote. “Last time you wanted to ‘finish the job,’ Iran emerged even stronger. But be careful; we have unfinished jobs too.”

Netanyahu is on trial on corruption charges, which he denies, and the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest in November 2024 over the conduct of the war in Gaza.

Araghchi also turned on France, saying President Emmanuel Macron had “made his bed” by siding with Washington against Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, for their part, warned that any strike on Iranian energy infrastructure would turn Israel into “scorched land”.

In Washington, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Iran’s government the main obstacle to peace in the region. Speaking of the Palestinian question, he said: “I would argue that issue would be easier to deal with if Iran didn’t exist.”

What happens next

Campaigning runs until polling day on 27 October. Netanyahu was reported on Monday to be in talks with the Charedi Public party as he looks for a path back to a majority.