Netanyahu warns of extremist Islam threat, calls for broad national government

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday warned that “extremist Islam” posed an existential challenge to Israel, accusing opposition leaders of seeking to form a government dependent on Islamist parties and calling for a broad national coalition led by his Likud party.In a post on X, Netanyahu said Israel faced threats both from outside, through Iran and its proxies, and from within, through Islamist parties that he accused of supporting terrorism.“Extremist Islam is the challenge tearing apart countries in Europe today. It is the challenge that threatens us as well. It threatens us from the outside through Iran and its proxies, and from within through Islamist parties of terrorism supporters,” he said. Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu on X Netanyahu alleged that these parties sought to undermine Israel's Jewish identity and weaken its ability to defend itself. He questioned whether a government relying on such parties could effectively tackle the country's security challenges. He also accused representatives of these parties of expressing support for Hamas and members of its Nukhba unit, who are imprisoned in Israel, arguing that their participation in a coalition would weaken the country from within.NETANYAHU CALLS FOR BROAD NATIONAL GOVERNMENTCalling for an alternative, Netanyahu advocated a broad national government led by Likud and comprising all components of the national bloc and Zionist parties willing to join. He accused leaders of the left-wing bloc of pursuing a minority government dependent on parties he described as supporters of terrorism, alleging that they were putting political interests ahead of national considerations.The remarks come amid an ongoing political dispute following Israel's recent elections, with opposition parties seeking to form a government while Netanyahu pushes for a broader coalition.NETANYAHU SEEKS PROBE INTO FOREIGN INTERFERENCENetanyahu also called for a thorough investigation into alleged foreign interference in Israel's elections, claiming that foreign countries may have spent substantial sums to influence the results.“There are serious suspicions of foreign countries' involvement with vast sums of money to influence the election results in the State of Israel,” he said, stressing that electoral integrity was fundamental to democracy.Earlier, Israel's domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet, reportedly informed the Central Elections Committee that intelligence gathered so far pointed to widespread foreign funding and influence operations during the election campaign.- Ends