Israel’s Army Chief of Staff Threatens to Wage War on Iran

 Israel's Army Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi speaks at a press conference in Tel Aviv on January 26, 2021 (AP)
Israel's Army Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi speaks at a press conference in Tel Aviv on January 26, 2021 (AP)
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Israel’s Army Chief of Staff Threatens to Wage War on Iran

 Israel's Army Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi speaks at a press conference in Tel Aviv on January 26, 2021 (AP)
Israel's Army Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi speaks at a press conference in Tel Aviv on January 26, 2021 (AP)

Israel’s top general appeared to refer implicitly to Iran in comments Sunday about Israeli military operations.

Israel's Army Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi said his army had obtained an enhanced offensive capability ready to transform its training to military operations at any time.

His comments came following reports claiming that the Israeli Mossad intelligence service had a role in an attack that targeted Tehran’s Natanz nuclear site.

The army’s “operations in the Middle East are not hidden from the eyes of the enemy,” Kohavi said at a memorial service in Jerusalem for fallen soldiers.

“They are watching us, seeing [our] abilities and weighing their steps with caution,” he added.

Kohavi also highlighted the drills scheduled for May and said it will be a month of the war, during which “we will conduct training on various fighting methods."

“We are ready to transform this military drill into an actual military operation,” he commented in a direct threat to Tehran.

He also responded to accusations and threats against Israel following a mine attack on an Iranian freighter in the Red Sea.

“Thanks to other complex and smart military operations, and thanks to you, soldiers and officers of the Israeli army, the past year has been one of the most secure for Israel and its citizens,” Kohavi told his soldiers.

The military commander’s remarks came hours after published Iranian reports indicated that the Natanz nuclear facility faced a technical incident, before confirming that it has been attacked.

It is still unclear whether Israel truly is involved in the “very suspicious” incident at Natanz, Ynet’s senior Israeli defense analyst and veteran military correspondent Ron Ben-Yishai wrote on Sunday.

“It is also unclear how severe the damage is to the facility, but it has certainly delayed the use of the new centrifuges unveiled just days ago - and older centrifuges used for enriching uranium were also impacted.”

According to Ben-Yishai, Iran decided to announce the incident for two reasons. Firstly, UN inspectors and their monitoring cameras were still active at Natanz and would have been able to detect the malfunction.

Secondly, the Iranians, who have observed an increase in the Israeli propensity to brag about covert operations, hoping to use any Israeli reaction to gauge whether it indeed had a hand in it.

The analyst also noted that Saturday was National Nuclear Technology Day in Iran, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that his country was experimenting at Natanz with at least three new types of centrifuges able to enrich uranium 10-50 times faster than before.

“This means that Tehran would be able to quickly increase its uranium enrichment production, making it able to produce a nuclear weapon within weeks and not one year,” he noted.

He said Israel fears the Iranians will achieve this goal and the world will have missed the opportunity to stop Iran, thereby leaving the Islamic Republic with nuclear capabilities - with all its implications for the Middle East and the entire world.



Netanyahu’s Move to Fire Security Agency Chief Threatens New Crisis in Israel

Ronen Bar, new chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), enters a vehicle at an undisclosed location in central Israel on October 11, 2021. (AFP)
Ronen Bar, new chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), enters a vehicle at an undisclosed location in central Israel on October 11, 2021. (AFP)
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Netanyahu’s Move to Fire Security Agency Chief Threatens New Crisis in Israel

Ronen Bar, new chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), enters a vehicle at an undisclosed location in central Israel on October 11, 2021. (AFP)
Ronen Bar, new chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), enters a vehicle at an undisclosed location in central Israel on October 11, 2021. (AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bid to dismiss a top security official has threatened to plunge Israel back into deep political crisis, with opponents on Monday organizing protests and a former court president warning against the "dangerous" move.

Netanyahu on Sunday cited an "ongoing lack of trust" as the reason for moving to sack Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, following a similar bid by the government to oust the attorney general.

Bar, who has been engaged in a public spat with Netanyahu in recent weeks over reforms to the agency, suggested there were political motives behind the premier's decision to ask the government to dismiss him.

Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara -- the executive's top legal adviser who has often taken positions that clashed with those of Netanyahu's government -- said the move was "unprecedented" and its legality needed to be assessed.

Bar said it stemmed from his own refusal to meet Netanyahu's demands for "personal loyalty".

The agency led by Bar has been accused of failing to prevent the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that triggered war in the Gaza Strip.

Several opposition parties have already announced they will jointly petition the High Court against Bar's dismissal, and the attorney general said in a letter to Netanyahu that he could not initiate the process "until the factual and legal foundation of your decision is fully clarified".

Baharav Miara is herself under threat of a no-confidence motion submitted by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who has spearheaded efforts to reform the judiciary and curb the court's powers -- a plan that sparked major protests before coming to an abrupt halt with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack.

Levin has accused Baharav Miara, a fierce defendant of the judiciary's independence, of "inappropriate conduct" and cited "significant and prolonged disagreements between the government and the attorney general".

The proceeding against the two figures promise to be lengthy, risking a repeat of the 2023 protest movement that was one of the most significant in Israel's history and had deeply fractured the country.

- 'Blow to national security' -

The Kaplan Force, a liberal umbrella organization which led the fight against the judicial reform, on Monday announced rallies in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv this week to protest the dismissal of the Shin Bet head.

The move to sack Bar, who has been involved in negotiations over the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, comes at a crucial time for the talks.

The truce has largely held since January 19 despite an impasse in efforts to extend it.

Since the Gaza war began, Netanyahu has dismissed his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, while several senior military officials have resigned including army chief Herzi Halevi.

Benny Gantz, an opposition figure who once served as defense minister under Netanyahu, said on X that "the dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet is a direct blow to national security and a dismantling of unity within Israeli society, driven by political and personal considerations."

Former Supreme Court president Dorit Beinisch told Kan public radio that Netanyahu was leading "processes that are dangerous for society".

"We need to wake up, and to wake up in time," she said.

- 'Power-grab' -

For Netanyahu's allies, the move against Bar falls within the normal rights of the head of government.

"In what normal country is a special reason even needed to remove the head of an intelligence organization who is personally responsible for a massive intelligence failure that led to the greatest disaster in the history of Israel?" far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on Telegram.

Nahum Barnea, columnist for the daily Yedioth Ahronoth, warned of the dangers stemming from the clash between Netanyahu and Bar.

"A prime minister who has lost his brakes will rule as he sees fit, and his failed government will follow in his wake," he wrote.

"It is gradually inching us closer to a form of civil war... in which there is no trust and a refusal to obey in security organizations".

For Amir Tibon, writing for the left-wing daily Haaretz, "Israeli democracy is now in grave danger".

"It's up to Israelis to decide if they'll accept Netanyahu's hostile power-grab -- and how far they will go to stop it".