Australia / Israel Review

Iran’s aerial attack on Israel in the early morning of April 14 – launched from Iranian soil – seems to have changed the game between the two countries, after years of attacks played out via Iran’s proxy forces in the region. How should Israel respond? Four experts give their takes:

Maj.-Gen. (Res.) Yaakov Amidror – “To Rafah or Teheran”

“We need to respond – and there are two good options: Either we take advantage of the attack yesterday in order to attack Iran, or to come to an agreement with the United States to enter Rafah, and eliminate Hamas there and in the central camps such as Deir al-Balah. Now is the time to use our international credit. 

“There’s no priority between [the two objectives]. In theory, they could happen at the same time. In practice, Israel is a small country and would have a hard time managing it. We also can’t forget that we don’t want to go to war with Lebanon. If we don’t go to Iran, it may be possible to work together with the Americans on the Lebanese front.”

Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Jacob Nagel – “A significant response against Iran on Iranian soil”

“The defence systems have intercepted more than 90% of the threats, but this fact should not reduce the price to be paid in the slightest. We need a significant response against Iran on Iranian soil, in at least three different ways:

“We need to attack the infrastructures that attacked us – the industries that built the drones and the warehouses. We also need to use this one-time opportunity to attack Iranian infrastructure – not to affect the price of oil, but to show that we can also attack gas, oil, and in addition, attack nuclear facilities and government institutions.

“The mistake we are making is drawing an equivalence between the attack and the damage.”

Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Yossi Kuperwasser – “We must not be complacent, but we must find the appropriate response”

“Israel needs to respond – the Iranians say they are changing the rules of the game; even according to these new rules, we need to be the dominant factor, to show them that there is a price to be paid. On the other hand, we need to remember that we want to focus on completing the mission in Gaza and maintaining good relations with the American Administration. We must not be complacent – but we need to find the appropriate response.

“The decision of how to respond will have to be made from a strategic point of view vis-à-vis the Iranian axis and the nuclear program. Iran is trying to attack us with hundreds of weapons overnight, the last thing we need is for a country like that to have nuclear weapons.

“The whole world must mobilise for decisive action to thwart the Iranian nuclear program, to dismantle the axis it has built, and to replace the [Islamic Republic] regime.”

Former Shin Bet chief Yaakov Peri – “Israel must respond”

“I think Israel has no choice but to respond, it must respond, to maintain its position as perhaps the most serious power in the Middle East and before Iran. As for how and when – according to Israel’s convenience. I don’t want to go into the nature of the response, but I don’t think it’s worth putting Israeli personnel at risk. We need to attack using technological and other means, and Israel has the capabilities to do that.”

© Jerusalem Post (www.jpost.com), reprinted by permission, all rights reserved.