Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu accused of ‘evil’ campaigning at time of war

Netanyahu sparked anger from the left and right on Monday when he said the Hamas attack had led to the same number of Israeli deaths as the Oslo accords, the peace agreement signed between Israel and the Palestinians in 1993. The comments, made in a leaked statement to the Knesset’s foreign affairs and defence committee, were widely seen as being politically oriented.

A senior official in Netanyahu’s own Likud party told the rightwing Israel Hayom newspaper, formerly regarded as a mouthpiece for the PM but increasingly critical of him in recent weeks: “Netanyahu is in full campaign mode. While the external political threats are gradually increasing, Netanyahu knows that over time the attacks and the calls to remove him will also increase.”