Netanyahu prefers protecting Israel over friendship with Washington.. Will he do it and wage war on Iran?

Israeli journalist Amichai Stein, who specializes in Israeli-American relations, did not rule out that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would order the army to launch an attack on Iran within the next two days.

In comments to “Beyond the News” program, in an episode (1/6/2021), Stein said, commenting on Netanyahu’s statements, that he would choose to strike Iran to end the existential threat to Israel, even if that was at the expense of Israel’s friendship with the United States.

Stein considered that Netanyahu’s statements may come in the context of the latter’s quest to stay in office, which is only a few days left, as Netanyahu’s opponents prepare to form a new government.

According

to Stein, Netanyahu, as part of his efforts to remain in office, relies on the method of influencing Israeli public opinion and fanning their fears of Iran and presenting himself as the only one capable of protecting them, and going far in this matter, by confronting Tehran militarily or even sacrificing relations with its ally. Strong, USA.

For his part, the former US diplomat and expert in international relations, Scott Anderson, downplayed the importance of Netanyahu’s statements, and said that his days are numbered in the government, and that the United States is looking forward to dealing with the new leaders of the Israeli government, considering that what Netanyahu said are merely attempts to influence the Israeli interior.

The American diplomat stressed that the relationship between Netanyahu and President Barack Obama was marred by a lot of coldness, and then these relations turned into a strong and personal relationship during the era of former US President Donald Trump, which sparked a lot of criticism in Washington.

Anderson said that Biden wants to correct the relationship, as he seeks to consolidate the relationship with Israel, but does not seek to consolidate it with the person of Netanyahu.

Professor of International Relations at Qatar University, Dr. Hassan Al-Barari, agreed with the other two guests in terms of Netanyahu’s pursuit of his statements to influence Israeli public opinion, thus staying in power for a longer period and evading the prison that awaits him due to the corruption cases that pursue him.

Al-Barari said that there are two dimensions in the US-Israel relationship, one of which is the strategic dimension, which guarantees the provision of permanent US protection to Israel, and the second is the tactical dimension, which bears differences in views between the two sides on some issues.

But Al-Bari completely ruled out Netanyahu’s implementation of his threats and a strike on Iran, stressing that he does not have the military audacity to do so, and he cannot do that without an American green light, stressing that the United States at this stage wants to put out the fires It will not allow Netanyahu to ignite any wars now.