Updated

With Israel's October 27 election approaching, opposition leader Yair Golan questioned Shin Bet chief David Zini's ability to protect the vote, accusing him of failing to address the "Qatargate" affair and Jewish terrorism in the West Bank, while former Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen warned Netanyahu could deliberately escalate security tensions for political gain. Former Shin Bet deputy director Israel Hasson called for a formal inquiry into October 7 failures amid conflicting accounts between Netanyahu and former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, former defense minister Naftali Bennett questioned Netanyahu's motives for protecting aide Yonatan Urich despite the Qatargate probe, and Likud said Netanyahu will sue ex-aide Yoav Horowitz for half a million shekels over a comment suggesting Urich is a "Qatari agent." Separately, Yisrael Beytenu's Avigdor Liberman accused former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot of secretly plotting a unity government with Netanyahu to siphon votes, calling him "Gantz 2," as Israeli emissaries abroad concluded voting with turnout 17 percentage points higher than in 2022.