Following estimates by Israeli Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir of an increase in the number of warnings of deterioration on all war fronts, the government is moving to extend the special state of emergency on the home front, which expires on October 20, until November 3. That is, until after the Knesset elections scheduled for October 27.
On Thursday, government ministers received a letter from Government Secretary Yossi Fuchs informing them that they would vote, urgently, by telephone, on extending the emergency period. Because the Israeli security authorities believe that there is still a “high possibility” of an attack on the civilian population, in light of the “state of uncertainty,” especially regarding Iran and Lebanon, and the proposal was put forward by Defense Minister Israel Katz.
The current state of emergency was scheduled to expire on October 20, according to a government decision issued on the sixth of the month. The proposal stipulates a re-evaluation of the need to extend the state of emergency before it expires on November 3, based on updated security estimates.
There is a belief in Israeli political circles that another extension will come later. The US elections will also be held on November 3, and this may be a reason for increased alarm.
Katz had announced the imposition of a “special state on the home front” on February 28, with the start of the Israeli-American war on Iran, and the government has repeatedly extended its effect since then. This announcement allows the Home Front Command to impose restrictions on education and gatherings, even though there are no restrictions of this type currently in effect.
Repeated statements of attack
The move comes in the context of repeated statements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli security officials regarding potential threats on several fronts as the elections approach. When Netanyahu was asked about this last night, he replied that he hoped there would be no military deterioration before the Israeli elections.
In the same context, Katz had accused Iran and its allies of trying to carry out attacks to influence the election results, saying: “We are monitoring attempts by our enemies, led by Iran and its agents, to push towards carrying out attacks that affect the election results in Israel,” without providing details or evidence to support his accusations.
For his part, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir warned of increasing possibilities of escalation due to “the many warnings on all fronts and the sensitivity of the stage,” during his approval of military plans related to the West Bank, in which he spoke of additional mobilization of his forces there. On the legal side, the judicial advisor to the security establishment concluded that there was no legal impediment to approving the extension, although she indicated that the continuation of the state of emergency since last February may raise legal problems, stressing the urgency and necessity of the proposal.
The opposition fears postponement
It should be noted that the Israeli opposition had warned of the possibility of Netanyahu undertaking military action that would lead to the postponement of the elections, if opinion polls continue to indicate his loss of power. But the leaders of the security services (the army, intelligence, and police) met and discussed the issue last week and decided that the elections must be held on their scheduled date and there is no justification for postponing them.
Hebrew media quoted sources belonging to what it described as “security agencies” that “the danger of military bombing may come from Iran and its arms; There are those in Tehran who believe that this is an opportunity to strike Israel, if not by direct bombing, then by Iranian arms in the region. Therefore, voices were raised in the ruling right in Tel Aviv calling for pre-emptive strikes against Iran and its arms.
In light of this debate, it was decided to extend the Israeli state of emergency to confront any danger, saying that “since October 7, 2023, Israel no longer takes any warning lightly, but rather prepares itself for the worst possibilities in advance.”
The detained opposition mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, described the investigations that began into allegations of corruption in the municipality and his arrest on March 19, 2025, as a “coup” against the popular will, considering that his trial was “political.”
During his plea on the second day in the corruption case in the Istanbul municipality, on Thursday, about 600 days after his arrest, Imamoglu confirmed that his trial was a “political trial,” pointing out that the indictment, consisting of about 4,000 pages, was “empty and devoid of any concrete evidence, and it seemed as if a headline writer, not jurists, had written it.”
He said, “Hundreds of dear policemen raided the house at dawn on March 19,” 2025, wondering: “Would I have refrained from attending if they had called me or sent a summons... You (the government) are cowards.” You have betrayed the Turkish nation, democracy, justice and the republic.”
Political trial
Imamoglu added: “I and my colleagues were detained in a cell in the Istanbul Security Directorate for 4 days. It was a dirty place, excuse me, that smelled of urine and drugs, but they did not arrest any of those involved in the case of embezzlement and manipulation of the people’s money in investment funds that exploded in mid-September. Rather, they asked them to come to give their statements and return to their homes. Because they are from within the ruling (Justice and Development) Party.”
He continued: “After 4 days of staying in that dirty place, they took us to the court, and the roads between the Security Directorate and the court were closed with tens of thousands of policemen everywhere. “We went to court hungry and thirsty.”
He pointed out that “no evidence or a single concrete example has been provided of allegations that cash support and assistance in providing vehicles were provided to mayoral candidates before the Istanbul elections in 2024 from companies that have commercial relations with entities affiliated with the Greater Istanbul Municipality.” On the contrary; We revealed the vehicles allocated and the support provided to (his rival, former Prime Minister) Bin Ali Yildirim, before the 2019 elections, which amounted to 45 million Turkish liras sent from the treasury of the Istanbul mayor to the municipalities affiliated with the (Justice and Development) Party in Istanbul.
Regarding the allegation that he tried to seize the headquarters of the Republican People’s Party, to which he belonged before moving to the “New Party” headed by Ozgur Ozil, he said that “whoever tried to do that is known,” and asked the court to summon the head of the party, temporarily appointed by a judicial decision, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, to testify.
Imamoglu pointed out that since the start of the trial on March 9, he has been labeled as the leader of a “criminal organization,” and that his colleagues are being tried as members of it. “This is a violation of our right not to be defamed, and a violation of the presumption of innocence... and the confessions that were extracted by threat were the price for the freedom of those who were forced to make them.”
He stressed that this issue was a “political issue” that was prepared after he announced his candidacy for the country’s presidential elections, saying: “I do not hold grudges or resentment, but I am doing this for the sake of the nation.” “I will fight as long as I live for my children, for those who chose me with their free will, and for democracy and the Turkish Republic.”
Imamoglu stated that “(humble journalism); (Pro-government) said that I made a presentation during the first session.” He added: “Oh showmen and fundraisers, everything about me is clear. They are the ones who showed off when they sent hundreds of policemen to my door at dawn, thinking that they would harm me... You are harming the people.”
A message to Erdogan
He addressed the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying: “You have forgotten how to practice politics, and you have separated from the people, and you think that you can do anything with money, but this will not work for this nation. “It is the people who will decide at the ballot boxes.”
Imamoglu began his argument on the second day of his defense, Thursday, by offering condolences to the victims of the torrential rains that swept Istanbul, saying that “this disaster cannot be explained by the amount of rain, and it cannot be separated from the residents who settled in valleys between 1994 and 2019, and from the towers built on the banks of the rivers during this period.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was elected mayor of Istanbul in 1994 from the Welfare Party, and after that the municipality remained under the leadership of the Justice and Development Party, until Imamoglu won it for the first time in 2019, beating his rival, former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.
For days, the city of Istanbul has been witnessing heavy rains that recorded the highest rainfall rate since 1942, amounting to 261 kilograms per square meter, which led to the death of 3 people, the injury of 3 others, and the loss of 4 people, in various parts of the city, and caused disturbances in roads and air traffic.
The governor of Istanbul, Davut Gul, announced the closure of schools on Thursday and Friday, and granted groups of workers in public and private institutions a holiday to preserve their safety.
