Recently, the contradictions and conflicts between Iran and Israel have attracted the attention of the international community, and the United States did not want Israel to make a big deal or even be "besieged" by Middle Eastern countries from the beginning, and after Biden's kind words and persuasion, Israel still couldn't swallow this breath, and launched missiles at Iran on April 19 to avenge the attack in the middle of the night a few days ago. Given Netanyahu's current situation, Israel's counterattack may also be an attempt to divert domestic attention from Iran. Once Israel thus aggravates the regional situation, Iran will inevitably lead local armed forces to harass or even "besiege" Israel, after the United States and Britain have dispatched air defense forces to help Israel defend against incoming missiles and drones, and once again make a big fuss that the United States may have to be dragged into the water.
According to a report by Axios News Network on April 17, five Israeli and U.S. sources revealed that Israel had considered a "near-immediate retaliatory strike" against Iran on the evening of April 15 this Monday, April 15, but ultimately decided to postpone and wait, and informed the Biden administration of this decision. It seems that Biden's previous persuasion has not had much effect on Israel, and Israel is still firm in its intention to retaliate against Iran.
After two delays in the strike plan, Israel really began to fight back. According to ABC on April 19, a U.S. official confirmed to the media that an Israeli missile hit a target in Iran, and explosions were heard in Iran's Isfahan region, southern Syria's Suweida province, Iraq's Baghdad region, and Babylon province on the same day.
It is no wonder that on April 15, the chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that "Iran dares to launch so many ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones into Israeli territory, and this will definitely be counterattacked." It can be seen that Israel seems to be less and less "controlled" by the United States, and on the issue of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the contradictions with Iran, Netanyahu dares not to listen to Biden's opinion, which may pull the United States into the water. Israel has always been an important pawn of the United States embedded in the Middle East map, and as long as the United States needs it, Israel can stir up the situation in the Middle East at any time and create opportunities for the United States to intervene in Middle East affairs.
But now, when Israel is facing an existential crisis, they feel that they must completely eliminate the armed forces of Hamas, and they have also hit back against Iran, which threatens its security. Even when Biden made it clear in his phone call with Netanyahu not to escalate tensions in the Middle East, Netanyahu insisted on going his own way, feeling that a counterattack must be taken to extinguish the fire.
As far as Israel is concerned, on the one hand, because Iran actually dared to retaliate against their attack at the beginning of the month, it is not very acceptable in terms of face or psychology; on the other hand, in view of the anger of the people at home, if it does not retaliate immediately, it may affect the public opinion towards Netanyahu, and now that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is still ongoing, if it does not strike while the iron is hot and "warn" Iran and its regional armed forces, it is very likely that they will "gain an inch", and the situation will be even more grim at that time.
Netanyahu, however, seems to have his own agenda. According to The Times of Israel, Netanyahu said Israel would "decide for itself" how to respond to missile and drone attacks launched by Iran. The remarks show that Netanyahu appears to have rejected international pressure from Israel to refrain from striking Iran, a position that Netanyahu conveyed in his talks with visiting British foreign ministers and German foreign ministers.
On October 11 last year, four days after the Hamas militant raid on Israel, Netanyahu announced the establishment of a wartime cabinet, which consisted of three people: Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Gallant, and former Defense Minister Gantz, leader of the opposition "National Unity Party." Despite the many contradictions and tensions between the three men, the original intention of the wartime cabinet was to be able to conduct the war efficiently, and to "override" almost all institutions.
Therefore, Israel's "own decision" is basically a decision on war and peace, and it is likely that they will not be able to swallow this breath, so it is only a question of the specific time and manner of retaliation. In addition, Netanyahu should also want to take advantage of the special nature and powers of his wartime cabinet, preferably to escalate the current situation, expand the war, prolong the time of this particular body, and preferably pull the United States into the water, which will greatly benefit his own political life.
First of all, since the current round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, domestic grievances have reached a new level, and the wartime cabinet led by Netanyahu has been criticized by many people, especially at a time when the Israeli economy continues to decline due to the conflict. According to the latest statistics released by Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics on April 16, Israel's GDP in the fourth quarter of 2023 shrank by 21% compared with the third quarter, and there were economic losses of up to 255 billion new shekels, or about 499.1 billion yuan.
Second, the domestic opposition was also unhappy with the wartime cabinet's actions, with many disagreeing with retaliation against Iran for fear of affecting relations with its neighbors. According to CNN, a poll by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on April 16 showed that 74 percent of Israelis oppose retaliation against Iran.
Finally, there have even been anti-Netanyahu demonstrations in Israel, you know, this wartime cabinet is not a "gold medal for avoiding death", and there will always be a day when the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will ease and subside, and when the situation is no longer tense, the domestic opposition forces and the people who have accumulated grievances will attack Netanyahu in one go, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is "liquidated". Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister in Israeli history, and his current term will expire in 2026, but since last year, there have been frequent demonstrations against Netanyahu in Israel.
At the end of March this year, tens of thousands of Israelis held a mass protest in Jerusalem, demanding immediate re-election of the parliament and calling for Netanyahu to step down, but Netanyahu repeatedly refused, citing "special times". It can be seen that Netanyahu still wants to take advantage of the favorable opportunity of the war and conflict to retain power in his hands, and even pull the United States into this troubled water. Now, the domestic opposition has frequently attacked him, accusing him of failing to guard against a Hamas raid and being too tough to succeed in a hostage exchange and a deal, which has also damaged relations with the United States. Netanyahu can be said to be facing "internal and external troubles", and if he does not change his stubborn stance and turn to the track of a peaceful settlement of the crisis, he will definitely be left with a gloomy fall.