The general feeling in Israel, after the ceasefire with Iran was announced in the early hours of Wednesday morning, was a huge opportunity had been missed.
The Israeli government, at the start of the campaign five and a half weeks ago, listed three main war aims: regime change in Iran; the removal of the nuclear threat; and the elimination of Iran’s ballistic missile threat.
The regime is still in place (despite the far-fetched claim by US president Donald Trump that the assassination of Iranian leaders amounted to effective regime change), the 440kg of enriched uranium remains in Iran (even though it is buried under the rubble of nuclear sites); and even though Iran’s ballistic missile capacity has been hit hard in relentless bombing, the regime was able to continue firing at Israel and Gulf Arab states throughout the war.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, in a prime time televised address, highlighted Israel’s achievements during the military campaign, saying Iran is weaker than ever and Israel has never been stronger. “That is the bottom line of the campaign. This is not the end of the war but a station on the way to achieving all the goals,” he said. “We are ready to return to fighting at any moment if required, our finger is on the trigger.”
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He insisted the enriched uranium will leave Iran, either through an agreement or through renewed combat, saying Israel and the US see eye to eye on this issue.
“There has never been such a diplomatic disaster in our history,” said opposition leader Yair Lapid. “Israel was not even at the table when decisions were made on core issues of our national security. The military carried out everything it was asked to do, and the public showed remarkable resilience ... but Netanyahu failed diplomatically, failed strategically and did not meet a single goal he himself set.”
Yair Golan, head of the left-wing opposition party The Democrats, also launched a scathing attack on Netanyahu, describing the ceasefire as a complete failure that “endangers Israel’s security for years to come”.
“Iran retains its enriched uranium, controls the Strait of Hormuz and is dictating the terms. And Israel, once again – as in Gaza – is not in the room. Not deciding. Not influencing. The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] wins – Israel loses because of a failed, extreme and dangerous government that does not know how to translate military achievements into diplomatic security.”
Netanyahu has claimed in recent weeks that this war has turned Israel into a “regional, almost global power”. But as Israelis emerged from more than a month of running to bomb shelters, the feeling was that this was merely another round in a never-ending conflict.
