Concern Netanyahu is playing up Iranian threat to rally political base
Israeli government officials are talking very publicly about how prepared they are for any attack from Iran on Israeli territory – from the prime minister, to the defence minister, to the military spokesperson. Benjamin Netanyahu, over the last 20 years, has been very vocal on the threat from Iran. It plays well to his base, it allows him to act like a tough guy and it’s very popular with the hard right of his political party.
But this latest round was actually sparked by the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
A lot of people wonder how much of this is simply political – to keep the prime minister popular among his base.
Netanyahu political survival ‘contingent on Israel being at war’
As tensions rise amid expectations of Iranian retaliation against Israel following the strike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus, analyst Marc Owen Jones says the only person who would benefit from an escalation in the region is Benjamin Netanyahu.
Why? According to Owen Jones, it’s because the prime minister’s political survival is contingent on Israel being on a war footing.
“One of the strategies of the [Israeli] right has always been to create an existential threat to Israel because that creates among the population a demand for protection,” he told Al Jazeera.
Netanyahu is trying to escalate the rhetoric while also undermining backchannels of communication, the associate professor of Middle East studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University said, noting that these have been heavily eroded.
The deadly attack on the World Central Kitchen’s aid workers and the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are “signals that diplomatic channels are failing to do what they are supposed to be doing, which is de-escalating tensions”.
USA barking up the wrong tree
A 24-hour diplomatic effort
As Israel braces for a potential Iranian attack following the deadly bombing of the Iranian consulate in Syria, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has engaged in diplomatic activities by calling foreign counterparts to use their leverage on Tehran.
- These include Turkey’s s Hakan Fidan, China’s Wang Yi and Saudi Arabia’s Faisal bin Farhan, according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
- The US has also engaged with European allies and urged them “to send a clear message to Iran that escalation is not in Iran’s interest, it’s not in the region’s interest, and it’s not in the world’s interest”, Miller said.
- Blinken also called Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, saying Washington would stand by Israel against threats from Iran.
Israel keeps provoking and escalating tensions all around, yet Israel continues to get a pass, bombing everyone around with US military aid, while the US keeps berating everyone else.
Meanwhile more and more countries are advising people to avoid travel over fears of Iran retaliating.
UK advises against travel to Israel over Iran attack fears
India advises against travel to Iran, Israel
France tells citizens not to travel to Iran, Lebanon, Israel, Palestinian territories
US restricts travel for staff in Israel
German airline Lufthansa extends Tehran flight suspension
