Tehran is fighting a war against Israel on all fronts, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned on Sunday, as a Jerusalem-based think tank called for a suspension of judicial reform in light of the danger of a broad-scale conflict on Israel’s borders and with Iran.
The IDF has “acted and will continue to act in all arenas, in overt and covert operations along the border, across the border, and even far from the border,” Gallant said at a special memorial ceremony for those who fell in the battle for Jaffa in 1948.
“Iran is waging a multi-front war of attrition against the State of Israel,” Gallant said, adding that it was “continuing its attempts to establish itself on the northern front and at the same time sending its proxies to Judea, Samaria and Gaza.”
IDF remains braced for increased violence
He spoke as the IDF remains braced for increased violence, despite the uneasy calm that has followed rocket attacks against Israel earlier this month on its southern and northern borders.
On Sunday the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies think tank published a position statement warning of such a war and urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to suspend his judicial overhaul plan in light of those threats.
“Israel is seen from the outside as a torn society, gradually losing its ability to function,” JISS said, in a statement that echoed the words of one of its fellows, former National Security Advisor and former Maj.-Gen. Yaakov Amidror said last week.
“Israel’s enemies are gaining confidence and expect the internal conditions in the Jewish state to lead to self-destruction,” JISS stated. This is happening as the US is reducing its involvement in the Middle East and Iran is strengthening its ties with Middle East countries, primarily Saudi Arabia, it explained.
“The chances of a deterioration into a wider conflict are more significant today than before,” JISS stated, adding that “Israel needs to prepare for the tangible possibility of war.”
It’s also likely, JISS said, that Israel could soon reach the point where “there will be no avoiding attacking Iran, even without American assistance.”
Netanyahu, who spoke ahead of Gallant at the memorial service, said that Israel must always be able to defend itself with its own military. If superpowers want to mobilize to help, that is good, “but we cannot build our national security on the foundations of others.”
He underscored the importance of national unity, as he explained that there was a limit to Israel’s internal turmoil by quoting words uttered by former prime minister Menachem Begin.
“Civil War - never,” Netanyahu said, but “national unity - absolutely.”