Internal Israeli disputes heat up over military attack against Iran

As the Washington U.S.-Israeli summit is nearing, the internal Israeli disputes over a military attack against Iran are flying thick to the point that Shimon Peres has expressed a view that does not dovetail with that of PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Peres warned off that public threats against Iran severely damage the bid to halt the Iranian armament.       

In turn, Netanyahu is still backing up what he considers as his country’s right to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions as he is trying to obtain a tougher U.S. position ahead of his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on March 5. The Israeli prime minister is holding secret talks with Washington in an attempt to issue a joint statement in which the U.S. pledges to tighten the recent sanctions against Iran in return for an Israeli promise to place the military option on the bottom of the list of threats against Iran.      

In this context, Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon announced “we can see the Iranian threat just as the U.S. does and we can also see the solutions to the problem. Israel reserves for itself the right to respond in a bid to protect its key interests.”     

In addition, 65% of the Israeli people reject an attack against Iran. According to experts, such an attack requires more than 125 warplanes along with other early-warning aircrafts and airplanes to rescue the pilots in the event that an Israeli plane crashes down.