Since last Wednesday, Israel has been on high alert. The defense establishment, beginning with the Air Force, has moved into peak defense readiness in the face of Iran's and its proxies' threats to painfully avenge the latest assassinations soon.
Israel and the United States are coordinating operations to stem a possible missile and drone attack, and the Americans have even announced the deployment of another aircraft carrier to the Middle East, the USS Abraham Lincoln, to join the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which is on patrol in the Gulf of Oman. The U.S. is also deploying aerial defense systems, ships and combat jets in the region. It's reasonable to assume that these measures are being coordinated with friendly Arab states.
Rocket interceptions, in northern Israel, on Saturday.Credit: Leo Correa/AP
At the same time, the U.S. and Western countries are calling on their citizens to quickly leave Lebanon. Iran and Hezbollah have rejected diplomatic efforts by Western states to calm things down and moderate their response. The Iranians, who accuse Israel of assassinating Hamas' political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, consider the operation on their soil the crossing of a red line.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that "Arab officials said they have passed warnings to Iran on behalf of Israel and the U.S. that Israel is ready to go to war if Hezbollah and Iran respond too aggressively," such as an attack on Tel Aviv or deeper inside Israel. In Iran's previous attack against Israel in April, Tehran took care to clarify in advance when it would launch missiles and drones, and Israel and the U.S. were well-prepared to intercept them. This time, the Iranians prefer to keep radio silence.?
What we aren't seeing so far is any dialogue between the Israeli government and the public. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government considers itself exempt from explaining to Israeli citizens what they can expect or from discussing the decisions and events that brought us to such a tense point in the confrontation that is liable to escalate into a regional war. The media has become used to this, it seems. Netanyahu appears before the cameras only when he can boast about military achievements, and even then he usually avoids answering questions.
Moreover, on the threshold of such a dangerous escalation, at a time when there is no progress in the contacts with Hamas on a hostage deal, Netanyahu is busy with consultations, preparations and leaks before ousting Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and possibly replacing him with lawmaker Gideon Sa'ar.
But his associates are hinting that he won't be satisfied with that: He's dreaming of systematically beheading the top brass, which will include ousting Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi and Shin Bet security service Director Ronen Bar. Then it will finally be possible to roll onto them the responsibility for the failures that allowed the October 7 massacre to happen, for which he refuses to accept an iota of blame.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, last year.Credit: Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry
The X account "News from a year ago" is now documenting the events of August 2023: Almost every day, one can find examples of Netanyahu utterly ignoring all the warnings about the expected security disaster if he insists on tearing apart Israeli society over his legislative actions.
Judicial overhaul is back
Nowadays, Netanyahu seems ecstatic, like someone convinced that the latest events, from the recent assassinations to the cheers he received during his speech before Congress last month, underscore that he was right all along. This feeling is informing and radicalizing his political actions. The campaign against the defense chiefs is continuing in full force, but it's also being directed at other targets.
The primary objective is to undermine the legitimacy of the protest organizations, beginning with Brothers and Sisters in Arms. A concentrated effort is being made to threaten its leaders and activists. This is no coincidence: These are preparatory steps for the possible ouster of the defense chiefs.
The objective is to get out of the way anyone who might interfere and try to repeat the "Night of Gallant" protests from March 2023. If this move is carried out with guns firing, and if National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's police assist in curbing the protests, it may yet succeed. In the background, the judicial overhaul is again rearing its ugly head – it's enough to follow Justice Minister Yariv Levin's latest statements.
At a time when Netanyahu and Levin are butting heads with the defense establishment and the judiciary, the well-oiled machine of abettors and followers in the media and on the social networks are mobilizing to justify every injustice. The hostage negotiation teams' trip on Saturday to Cairo for talks with Egyptian intelligence officials seems more like Netanyahu going through the motions, especially against the backdrop of preparations for the Iranian counterattack.
Netanyahu continues to behave within multiple paradoxes. In a phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden, he asked for more American aid, even though the U.S. administration says it wasn't notified in advance about some Israeli moves and Biden again heatedly reprimanded him for delaying the hostage deal. On Friday, Channel 12 News reported on the prime minister's clash with the defense chiefs, blocking their recommendation to move the hostage deal negotiations forward.
But except for Gallant's brief remarks, these same senior officers have not yet publicly challenged Netanyahu. The public is largely indifferent. The search for opposition leaders continues. Maybe they will only wake up from their somnolence when it's too late.
When right-wing thugs rioted and broke into two IDF bases last week, Netanyahu took care to equate them with the anti-government protest movement (which is also demonstrating for a deal to release the hostages), claiming that they demonstrate the same violence, even though there is no similarity between them.
Protesters call for a deal to release the hostages, last week.Credit: Itay Ron
Meanwhile, on Saturday, the police detained for questioning protest activists who dared to have a picnic in a public park next to the home of Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein. Somehow, none of the rioters at the IDF bases have been arrested, even though the identities of some of them are known.
The police has already fallen victim to the judicial coup; the fate of the other organizations depends on the strength of public opposition to Netanyahu's next actions.