Archive · 25 Aug 2026
Netanyahu Targets Erdoğan and Mamdani in Israel Election Campaign
Israel is preparing for a national election in October.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party is using messages about dangers from outside Israel.
A campaign billboard showed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and two regional figures.
Netanyahu says these people and groups want him to lose.
Mamdani has criticized Israel’s war in Gaza and called Netanyahu a war criminal.
Erdoğan has also strongly criticized Israel and supports legal action against Israeli officials.
Israel then attacked an airbase in Syria because it said Turkey might place military equipment there.
Syria and Turkey denied that a permanent Turkish base was about to be established.
Netanyahu’s opponents say the campaign is distracting voters from domestic problems and questions about the government’s security record.
Likud has made foreign critics and regional adversaries central to its campaign for Israel’s October election.
A Tel Aviv billboard grouped Zohran Mamdani, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Mojtaba Khamenei and Naim Qassem as figures seeking Netanyahu’s defeat.
Netanyahu has portrayed Mamdani’s criticism of Israel and calls for enforcing the ICC warrant against him as evidence of hostility from progressive US circles.
Tensions with Erdoğan intensified over Gaza, Turkey’s legal actions against Israeli officials and Ankara’s alleged plans for a military presence in Syria.
Israel’s August 18 airstrikes on Syria’s Abu al-Duhur airbase drew denials and condemnation from Syria, Turkey, the United States and regional governments.
- Who
- Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party, alongside foreign figures including Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Zohran Mamdani; Israeli opposition parties are also involved in the campaign debate.
- What
- Likud is campaigning around external threats while Netanyahu and Erdoğan exchange accusations, and Israel has conducted airstrikes against a Syrian airbase.
- When
- The election is scheduled for October 27; the airstrikes occurred on August 18, and Turkey’s indictment was issued on July 14, 2026, according to the article.
- Where
- Israel’s campaign unfolded in Tel Aviv; the airstrikes targeted Abu al-Duhur airbase in Syria’s Idlib province, about 70 kilometres from Turkey’s border.
- Why
- Likud says Israel must be led by a strong security-focused prime minister amid external threats; opponents say the strategy diverts attention from domestic issues and the government’s security record.
Likud and Netanyahu’s Argument
Opposition and Critics’ Argument
Role of foreign adversaries
Likud and Netanyahu’s Argument
Likud presents foreign critics and regional opponents as part of a broad campaign against Netanyahu and argues that Israel needs strong, independent security leadership.
Opposition and Critics’ Argument
Opposition parties argue that highlighting foreign figures is an electoral tactic designed to distract voters from domestic policy and investigations.
Turkey’s role in Syria
Likud and Netanyahu’s Argument
Netanyahu’s office says Turkey was close to establishing a military presence at Abu al-Duhur and that Israel acted to prevent a breach of the security status quo.
Opposition and Critics’ Argument
Turkey and Syria denied that a permanent Turkish deployment was imminent. Syria called the airstrikes an unjustified violation of its sovereignty, while the United States called them an unnecessary escalation.
Israel’s military and legal conduct
Likud and Netanyahu’s Argument
Israel says its forces acted within international law while enforcing a maritime blockade and maintains that the Syria strikes were necessary for security.
Opposition and Critics’ Argument
Turkish prosecutors accused Israeli forces involved in the flotilla interception of serious crimes, while critics of the Syria operation condemned it and Israeli opposition figures questioned the government’s security record.
- Election
- Israel is scheduled to elect all 120 members of the 26th Knesset on October 27.
- Campaign slogan
- Likud’s billboard said: “They want Netanyahu to lose. Don’t let them win.”
- Billboard figures
- The billboard featured Zohran Mamdani, Mojtaba Khamenei, Naim Qassem and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
- Syria airstrikes
- Israeli fighter jets carried out four strikes against Abu al-Duhur airbase on August 18.
- Israeli justification
- Israel said the strikes were intended to prevent a planned Turkish deployment of personnel, drones and air-defence systems.
- Turkish legal action
- Turkey requested an Interpol Red Notice for Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli official Afek Moskovitch, according to the article.
- Opposition response
- The Yashar party and other opposition lawmakers accused the government of weakening military readiness and diverting attention from domestic investigations.