Story perspectives

Netanyahu Leads Likud After “Deep State” October 7 Blame

By Drooid · Sep 11, 2026, 8:24 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Benjamin Netanyahu is leading Likud into the October 27 election.
Netanyahu revived a victim-hood narrative, portraying himself as a bullied child in a campaign video.
He sued Haaretz over a claim the UAE warned of the 2023 Hamas attack, calling it interference.
Netanyahu and far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir held rival news conferences claiming the Irgun militia legacy.
He blamed defence officials for not waking him on October 7, 2023, accusing the “deep state.”

History

Historical Context

In 1977 the Likud alliance—formed in 1973 from Herut, the Liberal Party and others—won 43 Knesset seats, ending Labor’s three-decade rule and bringing former Irgun commander Menachem Begin to power, with Ariel Sharon in his cabinet. Decades later Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud campaigns echo that Irgun legacy, aligning with far-right figure Itamar Ben-Gvir to mobilize similar nationalist rhetoric.

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Story summary

Benjamin Netanyahu is leading Likud into the October 27 election.
Netanyahu revived a victim-hood narrative, portraying himself as a bullied child in a campaign video.
He sued Haaretz over a claim the UAE warned of the 2023 Hamas attack, calling it interference.
Netanyahu and far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir held rival news conferences claiming the Irgun militia legacy.
He blamed defence officials for not waking him on October 7, 2023, accusing the “deep state.”

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