Israel’s war cabinet has been meeting all afternoon to discuss a response to the Iranian attack without angering allies who have called for military restraint. But there is still debate about when and how big a possible response would be.
Former commander-in-chief Benny Gantz wants it to come as soon as possible, while having international support, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to wait a bit for a response.
Even when it comes to what to attack, they don’t seem to agree on, reports Terese Cristiansson.
– It seems that they are still looking for targets, primarily inside Iran. Some kind of military facility that would not mean that people are injured or killed in any way. But there is still very little information that came out of the war cabinet meeting today, says Terese Cristiansson.
Different opinions on counterattack
Opinions on a possible response to Iran’s attack are divided in Israel. Terese Cristiansson tells us that among the Israeli population and if you look at the Israeli media, there seems to be strong support for an attack on Iran in some way.
– They want to show that we do not agree to this, she says.
At the same time, since October 7, there has been a great deal of dissatisfaction and distrust towards Prime Minister Netanyahu.
– There are many who doubt whether it is Netanyahu in particular who could make the best strategic decision right now for Israel and Israel’s future in the region, says Terese.
The resulting situation is followed throughout the region and, for example, Jordan supported Israel during the attack itself and helped to shoot down some of the robots that were heading towards Israel.
– But they have also said that if Israel carries out a counterattack, they will not participate. Defending is a completely different matter, says Terese.
The call: “Hold back”
In the past 24 hours, a number of world leaders have called on Israel to hold back, including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Even the Kremlin calls for restraint after the Iranian attack, reports the AFP news agency.
– Further escalation is not in anyone’s interest, spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow.
Tehran, for its part, urges the rest of the world to value “Iran’s restraint” towards Israel in recent months, writes AFP.