'Israel ready to attack Iran even without US support'

AFP | Jerusalem                                                 

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com    

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has said Israel is “ready” to attack Iran and can do so even without support from the US.

“We are ready to act against Iran. The Israeli army has the ability to strike both in distant countries and near home,” Halevi was quoted as saying by Israel media yesterday. He said that the IDF will enhance its capabilities for a pre-emptive strike on Iran in the next few years, and that such a strike would be “overwhelming” despite the geographical distance.

“We know how to act alone. We are a sovereign nation that reserves the right to make its own decisions. It would be good to have the United States on our side, but it is not an obligation,” he added.

These comments come amid growing tensions between Iran and Israel, with Iran accusing Israel of killing two of its military personnel in Syria last week and vowing to retaliate. Israel accuses Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, a claim that Iran denies.

Israel has previously warned that if diplomatic efforts fail to curb Iran’s nuclear program, it would resort to military action. There has been a rare public disagreement between Israel and the US, with President Joe Biden calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step back from a bid to weaken the judiciary, which has triggered massive protests in Israel.

Netanyahu responded that he would not bow to foreign pressure but took a more conciliatory tone when he participated in a democracy summit called by Biden. Following that exchange, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen and “reaffirmed the importance of the enduring US-Israel bilateral relationship,” according to State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.

‘Racist’ remark

A leaked recording in which Israel’s police chief described Arabs as murderous by “nature” has sparked outrage among Israeli Arab parties. During a private phone conversation last week, Israel’s farright national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai discussed plans to establish a national guard, in part to combat allegedly high crime rates in Arab communities, the Times of Israel reported.

“One murder after another. It has crossed every line. We need a strong national guard,” the security minister was quoted to have said in the conversation’s transcript, leaked to Israel’s Channel 12 on Tuesday.

The police chief ’s recorded response was: “Mister minister, there is nothing that can be done. They kill each other. That is their nature. That is the mentality of the Arabs.” The two officials have been arguing for over a week after Israel’s government approved the formation of a national guard.

Opponents, including the police chief and opposition leaders, said this force should not be controlled by the far-right minister, who heads the Jewish Power party, for fear of it functioning as a “private militia.”