Israeli Eyes Are on Iran, but Iran Is Already Here
The Israel led by Benjamin Netanyahu appears to be losing its mind. The message coming from the Prime Minister's Office is a war of all against all. His behavior since returning from Washington is that of a man who has lost the last vestiges of his judgment and any connection with reality. The magical atmosphere in America and the cult of personality he enjoyed there have blinded him.
Granted, , moderation and judgment when he arrived there, either. But in America, he lost the last remnants of the qualities needed by a leader responsible for the peace and wellbeing of millions.
And when you add in the return/infiltration of his son Yair, who is now back in the bosom of his family, the sky is the limit. The prime minister no longer listens to anyone and simply does whatever he pleases.
He didn't allow the hostage negotiators to go to Qatar, and when he did let them go to Cairo this week, it was strictly for the record. They went, they had meetings and they returned. They only forgot one thing – to actually hold negotiations.
With eyes wide open, he is challenging fate and planting landmines in the negotiations to bring the hostages home. His subordinates, who ostensibly disagree with him, assassinated senior Hamas official Mohammed Deif, and later Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh – and the latter on Iranian soil no less. This operation was a blatant invitation for Iran to respond and open the gates of hell.
Following the assassination of Haniyeh, Maj. Gen. (res.) Amiram Levin wrote on X, "Insanity. Defense officials should have opposed it vehemently."
The problem is that what Levin sees clearly, many level-headed Israelis don't, including – in fact, especially – those who hold key government posts. They don't see the close connection between the raids that militias from the government's messianic/dictatorial wing carried out on the Sde Teiman army base and the military court in Beit Lid and the wave of assassinations. The former feeds the latter, and vice versa.
Netanyahu is exploiting the army's "achievements" to the hilt to implement his plan to continue the war. He knows the assassinations are popular with Israelis, and he knows they embarrass his political rivals, who oppose them not because they are overly fond of the Palestinians, but because of fear that they will lead to a bad outcome.
It turns out that Netanyahu's opponents, in both civilian life and the army, don't have strong enough spines to say that such assassinations, even if they are very popular, only prolong the war, preclude any chance of bringing the hostages home, will lead to a regional war and also keep the messianists in power.
This isn't terribly complicated. In fact, it's very clear. On one hand, we have grandiose assassinations accompanied by an end-of-the-world atmosphere. On the other hand, we have the disintegration of what remains of the rule of law in this country. The two go hand in hand.
Protesters in Tel Aviv, on Thursday.Credit: Itai Ron
Anyone who, at this point in time, wants to continue the war because he is still furious over Hamas' attack on October 7 should know that he is handing the country on a silver platter to far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Anyone who wants to defeat Netanyahu must say publicly that assassinations and provoking Iran and continuing the war will all result in a complete change in our system of government.
What great sights we will see! Our "heroes" will return from the battlefield crowned with laurels, and they will be greeted by a perfect coup against our system of government. This isn't lunatic speculation; it's the reality that is currently taking shape.
Meanwhile, there will be more and more raids like the one on Sde Teiman. And the settler leaders who embittered the Palestinians' lives will move on to embittering Israelis' lives and purging the ranks of academia, government ministries, the justice system, the hospitals, the education system and, of course, the Finance Ministry.
While all eyes are on Iran, Israel is becoming another version of it.