Netanyahu trying to persuade cabinet to support attack on Iran

This will be the start of WW3.

Israel has just suffered a major reverse at the UN. The world has for the first time defied the USA over Israel/Palestine. The Pals are in the ascendancy. The social protesters are out on the streets. Netanyahu and cabinet look weak, isolated and powerless. So 48 hours later, we have leaked stories about how Israel, led by Captain Bibi, will smite the Persian empire, therefore painting him as a decisive, courageous figure. I don't know who organises his hasbarah, but they need to up their medication. Better hope they don't provoke Iran into striking first. Trouble is, enough Israelis fall for the diversionary games each time, without realising that they aren't actually aimed at Iran, the USA or anyone external, they are bombast and strutting for the domestic audience, designed to shore-up Netanyahu's sagging political popularity and respect ratings.

If the Iranians did nuke Israel, they would wipe out the Palestinians also. All the Holy Sites would be radioactive wastelands for generations. Who cares what the blowhards in Iran say or do, there will be a revolution as soon as Syria falls. The problem at hand is to negotiate with the Palestinians and clear up your problems with Turkey and Egypt. I'm am so sick and tired of the current Israeli administration. Bunch of loud mouth cry babies.

All these Israeli threats of a direct attack. What is Israel playing at?

The Muslim Brotherhood and especially the Salafists thank Israel for the great campaign works it does on their behalf.

you cant defeat Hezbollah and hamas ,let alone Iran. alas, Israel's years are numbered..

What happened to they'll have a bomb by this time next year - the argument from 3 years ago? Is Bibi trying to convince Iran it needs a bomb right now?

Gee, an opportunity of a lifetime to have a three front (maybe five) war, one half a continent away. Why wouldn't the current cabinet be just all warm and fuzzy over the idea? Might it be somebody miscalculated?

It could be true. In any case, it may not be bad to have the Iranian leadership pondering whether this is for real or not.

For G-d's sake, let us sane Israeli citizens go into the streets to oppose this crazy move. That will surely set the whole Middle East aflame.

What about a nuclear, aggressive Israel? Attacking another country, I mean seems being aggressive to me... Bombing a nuclear power plant would indeed be a war crime. That might not be a problem for a state which is deterrioting it's relationship with UN. Commiting war crimes were not a problem for the NAZIs either. Then one must be the country that will win the war, otherwise...

With Israel's stock so low and world sympathy with the Palestinians, the hawks are trying to distract attention from their failure to come up with anything constructive. Attacking Iran will put the Palestinian issue on the bsck burner and buy more time for settlement expansion. Their hope is that by the time world attention returns to the Palestinians, more of the West Bank would be gone. Facts on the ground and all that. And Netanyahu still insists that he wants peace.

Remember Fukushima anyone? Why punish the innocent people of Iran who have nothing to do with the policies of their government. Don't forget part of Japan will be uninhabitable for decades and thousands of people may die of cancer. Is this not a consideration at all?

Attacking Iran was too crazy even for Lieberman!

Barely 5 million jewish Israelis against about 80 million Iranians? Baah! No problem for the allmighty Third Jewish Reich as it has Wonder Weapons...

Israel is famous for its pre-emptive strikes, yet claims it is not a warmongering state and wants peace with its neighbours! This attack will not gain any friends for Israel in the international community, but go on - let's see what happens. Should be very interesting!

They come to think anything they want to do is acceptable. There seems to be no compunction about starting a huge war in the middle east. Please tell me, when was the last time Iran attacked another country? When was the last time Israel did'? Who is the aggressor and who should the world worry about?

Currently Israel's military is weaker than Turkey. Israel is so technologically backward that they cannot make fighter planes, submarines, etc. They have to buy all of these from other countries.

i can imagine it already, all of syria's missiles, all of hezbolla's missiles, and all of iran's missiles lauched in sync at the same time in retalitation. i just hope netanyahu is flexing his muscles. or WW3 would be at hand.

Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war. -Otto von Bismarck, statesman (1815-1898)

Netanyahu is really ambitious. A plan to reoccupy Gaza, all the West Bank Palestinian cities and an invasion and occupation of Iran, and all at once.. Should take people's minds off social justice at least. More ambitious than Kadima with Cast Lead to boost electoral ratings.

Remember our battle cry: G-E-W-A-L-D

don't do it. It would be a disaster which would make Iraq and Afganistan look like a kindergarden war I'm afraid.

I think it would be a freakin disaster which should be averted at all costs. Just look up some of the things the Iranians did in the Iran-Iraq war when it felt threatened. It would unite all Iranians behind their hardline leaders. I think the consequenses would be felt worldwide.

The evil Israeli Government demonstrating yet again, its aggressive intentions towards the middle east. State terrorism the natural extension of Irgun and Haganah.

if they try, surelly they ill bay the prise.

Can we Jews/Israelis for ONCE change the hysteric tone of our challenges to the world? We are like a group of old yentas threatening to rape the cossaks. Come on, nobody loses sleep over our threats.

Why now? These Likudniks are no fools. They know Iran has no nuclear weapons program. Otherwise they would not date. No, the reason to attack now is because Achmedinijock is on the way out and the next guy might be a democrat. And the US is looking hard at budget issues, which is never good if you're addicted to big daddy's money. Best to strike now while the excuse is still hot. How else to distract the home population and con the US into another dozen years of open wallet?

As the rest of the enlightened world realizes, the greatest threat to Israel and the world is Israel!!

What is Israel going to do when thousands of missiles/rockets are falling on Israel from Iran Syria Lebanon and Gaza at the same time. This isn't going to be a single Israeli attack. War will be started.

The last transaction recorded was 1 Jew = 1027 muslims. At this rate Israel can well manage Iran with minimum damage.

Let's start a War!

Iran has a terrible government, and the country could easily follow the Tunisia/Egypt/Libya path. An attack--even a successful one--would instead entrench the Iranian government. This proposes to give up peace for security, except that this would cement the anti-Israeli government and give them an excuse to make a no-holds-barred attack. And for a pathetic gain! The Iranians are no crazier than Chairman Mao was, and the world survived the development of the Chinese bomb; meanwhile, we've passed a half-dozen "point(s) of no return" with only hypothetical ill effects and no signs that the Iranian government would commit suicide by making a nuclear attack on anyone. I should expect as much from a government that's totally failed to try to move towards peace, but still, this is breathtakingly dumb.

You will believe and say anything until the Jews are driven into the sea. The funny thing out of it all is they don't like anybody but themselves. Kinda like being friends with your bully.

find a way to screw it up. How can you sleep well at night knowing this bumbler is in charge of Israel's defense? Why is he still there ??

The sooner iran is wiped off from the face of the world map, the safer the world will be, temporarily. IDF can do it...!!!

There is an African saying that goes "papa if you fight with the stronger one I promise I will fight with the weak one." Israel wants to drag us (Americans) into unnecessary war..............that is all!!

How much of my tax money will be involved in saving their butts? Even the Jews I know don't like Israel. Why are we always saving them?

just the regular mode, to make you little and quiet...

They may not have nukes but they have bought supports from Syria,Lebeanon,Hamas and Islamic Jihad and this is when their investments pays off.

Does Israel expect that the U.S. will now require it's citizens to fight and die for it by launching an attack on Iran? The U.S. is just now ending combat in Iraq which was engineered by the neocons in the Bush administration. It has cost thousands of American lives and trillions of dollars with nothing to show for it. Iran is a bigger country and will not let any such attack go unanswered. Such a reckless move by the US or Israel have repercussions which cannot begin to be imagined. Israel needs to start acting like responsible member of the world community make a just peace with the Palestinians. Such a move would do infinitely more towards improving its' long term security than settlements, the imprisonment of Gazas' people and starting a war it lacks the capacity to finish without killing millions of innocent people.

All these wealthy lunatics and their flinging about bombing here and bombing there... what do they think, the supreme crazy guys running Iran don't have weapons? Must they insist we find out?

Finally!!!! Israel will meet its creator. Good riddance. A new world order will WITHOUT this Israel. A new and peaceful Israel WILL emerge.

Barak: "I believe diplomatic pressure and sanctions must be brought to bear against Iran"....senior Israeli official? who's that guy?A sensation-seeking freelancer?

...will reap what they sow. Headed towards demographic elimination and/or an internal civil war between the religious freaks/Taliban of the setlement movement, and your average apolitical Tel Avivan sponge, what other options do Israelis have but to start a war and bring on more hatred, death, and destruction? It's the Zionist way, as Moshe Sharett explained decades ago. :(

See you on the other side!

Time to turn the page on the IDF. On their last adventure they were busy getting their clock cleaned by Hizbollah as the IDF bombed apartment blocks in Beruit. I guess people prefer to do those things that they do the best. Where does this leave the IAF? There is not a single pilot in the IAF that has experienced antiaircraft fire. In fact, the average IAF mission lasts just 45 minutes. On the other hand, this is more likely to be nothing but saber rattling. After all, what nation plans actual attacks by leaking to the media?

This nutty idea might be for real after all. By leaving Iraq, makes sense Necons and Zionists will target Iran next. Not too many bad guys left on their most wanted list - with Qadaffi gone, Assad on the brink, seems like a good time to target the usual suspects in Iran. It will prove a costly blunder for Israel and America. Oil will hit 200 bucks overnight, we are already in a global depression in some parts, an attack will push the world deeper into the abyss. And we have Israel to thank for the impending catastrophe. But then again, for some, a global war could be the answer to a depressed economy and high unemployment. It worked for America back in the 40's, no telling what advice Obama is getting today. on jobs with so many troops who either could hit the unemployment lines or be hitting Iranian targets?

Its one thing to provide extensive defence tech, another to expend diplomatic credibility by running interference in the UN, but now you want us to start wars for you?! What kind of perverse mentality must you have to acknowledge the limited upside of a preemptive strike while encouraging the US to do so on your behalf? Does the Israeli leadership still live on the same planet as us?!

That's a trust worthy source especially when he has no name so he cannot deny or even accuse Haaretz of lying!

When half of Israel is occupied by Iranian-allied forces when Israel has it's chain yanked by the West and forced to sign yet another cease-fire, remember what is always repeated over and over here: "It is legal to keep land taken in a Defensive War". Israel cannot afford to start even a SINGLE offensive war against ANY other country.

There are no good solutions...only solutions...it would be amoral not to attack their facilities..we MUST learn from our collective past..left right or center...have we no understanding of what took place so very recently? We did not become strong to then be weak ....israel and all jews ought to understand what we must do. Its a moral imperative. mostly, obama PLEDGED in his 08' campaign to never allow iran nukes, but his efforts have failed....so what will HE do? If you understand the man, I think you come to the conclusion that he will never attack iran. Its not in his plus side of the plus minus ledger...of course, if he attackes irans nuke sites, he will win the US election...americans desperately want to hit iran hard...and they have a right to feel that way...remember the embassy? the shame? jimmy carter and his weak posture? remember the marine barracks in lebanon that was blown to bits by irans handy henchmen, hezbollah.... iran with nukes IS unnacceptable and if the world isnt happy with the results, they only have themselves to blame...israel must do what it must do. I say attack them and hit them HARD...all IRGC sites, barracks, all nuke facilities, hit the mullahs, the basij bases...hit it all.... I am betting thr iranian people see it as an opportunity to overthrow that disgraceful tyrannical govt run by mad 7th century freaks.

This open hostility just HELPS Ahmadinijad consolidate power to defeat popular uprisings against him from within Iran. Israel will NEVER be able to remove the Iranian gov't and replace it with more moderate Iranians by attacking Iran. The popular uprisings can. And yet Israel does everything possible to back Ahmadinijad against them. Worst public policy blunder ever.

Start a war and of course the population threatened in it´s very existence will solidarize with the government that started the mess. We´ve see that before and it works! So good luck Bibi & Avigdor - you´ll certainly be the "first to fight".

why doesnt the israelis expend their efforts towards peaceful resolutions rather than escalating into armed aggression? war is never the answer or solution to problems between states it actually increases hatred and loss of resources that could have been diverted to positive projects.

What gave this much courage to think about attacking a big country with regular army and a big regional support...

And such retaliation would be an attempt at genocide and destruction of the entire state of Israel. This is not something to be done without a super-sealed, safe, fully deployed and fully operational multi-level anti-missile defense system. Before that is in place (and even so) it is nothing short of madness.

Pay the price today when it should have paid more cheaply yesterday because tomorrow It will be more expensive.

Are you NUTS? Totally suicidal.

Give us the spectacle of the dead bodies of Israeli pilots dragged through the streets of Tehran.

There is a window. A ray of sunshine for hope to follow. I do not know what the intelligence reveals. May God lead us.

1. At least One fourth and maximum the half of world oil supply would be cut by this war by different ways and I do not discuss what happens afterward, when Iranian missiles shut down Koweiti, Bahreini, and Saudi wells.Next, an Arab Autumn starts which revolutionize the middle east more than what Arab spring did. I am just thinking how the Israeli leaders could even talk about such a war which is possible to change the face of world.

This can't be... Iran already said it can fire 11,000 missiles within a minute of being attacked. Maybe a lot of them will be stopped by missle defense systems, but do you really want to take 11,000 chances? Not to mention Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria and maybe even Egypt or Turkey! And what if Israel is hit, will you use the Samson Option on Europe? Do you want the world to say: 'The Jews started WW3'? Please Israel, I beg you to stop this madness. Only the 1 % (elite) will benefit, the rest of us will suffer.

Or is it the arabs have never been more disunified and the persians never more isolated?

But then I doubt it will be solely PM Netanyahus decision alone without the approval of the rest of the cabinet..I like the idea,but don't think the iranians are that stupid.They shout and rave,but ultimately it will end in their destruction plus the rest of the ME and further afield to the rest of the worlds countries..Spreading like wildfire ..In brief if push comes to shove & the US joins(which I doubt) and Israel goes it alone it will be a big gesture ending in MAD...i.e The Sampson Option.But that would occur if Israel finds itself (at the vast receiving end) . Converesely what of the rest of the nuclear countries who have THE NUKES.. The the US UK,France ,India,Pakistan ..to name but a few. C'mon cheer up it may be a political maneuvring that has been discussed for quite sometime by many (other than just Israel now) Not a new proposition..Why not think about Ahmedinejad who is facing FRAUD ..His future is now suspect. The Ulterior motive stems by the CRAZY and billoner Mullahs ...

Let's see. Fly over Jordan and Saudi Arabia...no, no good. OK, fly over Turkey...no, no good. Fly around Turkey, through Greece into the Black Sea over Georgia, Armenia, Azerbajan...no, no good. Yeah, fly over Syria, then Iraq...yeah, that's the ticket...Go for it, Bibi!

Iran has experimented with launching short-range (300 miles) ballistic missiles from containers on ships. That means the US east and west coasts are at risk once Iran deploys a weapon. Israel is not alone in being at risk.

However the cost of this experience is too high for the lives of Iranians, Israelis, Palestinians, Syrians, and Lebanese. In some sense the prospect of such an attack may be positive for Iran and its allies. Asad's government is saved from falling, Iran builds internal and external legitimacy and recover the relation with Europeans. Therefore, sanctions would get easier because Iran can claim that it needs nuke to withstand Israel's agressions, Arabs get more power both by loss of legitimacy of Israel, and by higher oil price which will make dependent the bankrupted western countries even more to oil rich countries, right like what happened after crisis. Until now I have assumed that Arab public will remain quiet in this attack. However if Iran turns this attack to serial wars, then one thing which Iran can much rely on it is the cooperation of Arabs' public which have been repressed for years by their governments. I mean then Saudi king, Jordan king, or Egyptian army figures won't be able to do any thing. What Israil gets assuming these attacks are successful is that it postpones the nuclear project 2-3 years. I should say that Israelis are starting what Mullas need to survive and get more powerful. I mean they never count on nukes to kill Israel, but they much count on unifying all Islamic countries against Israel. You can easily see it in their actions and slogan. However until israel itself does not attack on Iran and prove fight and defense an obligation, Iranian technocrats themselves never let such a thing happen. The key here is how to win the support of people who just joke Mullas' anti-Israeli stands, and Israel's attack automatically handle this problem for the mullah.

"Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon said he preferred an American military attack on Iran to an Israeli one. "A military move is the last resort," he said." So the US should send their children to war but not Israeli ones. Israel should make no sacrifice?

Iran has experimented with launching short-range (300 miles) ballistic missiles from containers on ships. That means the US east and west coasts are at risk once Iran deploys a weapon. Israel is not alone in being at risk.

Haha

Well,it's coming sooner or later so you might as well get on with it.

Iran's having a nuclear bomb is no more threat than the USSR having one. The only real threat would be to Israel's ability to blackmail its neighbors with its nuclear bombs. If Israel wants another war, I hope it decides against it, but if it does, it should understand that we won't get involved and it is in its own - win or lose.

Destroyed no. Its major population centers turned into blackened craters yes. What remains probably returned to Russia and Poland.

nuclear radiation everywhere near the reactor, infecting people and destroying land which is a war crime. I guess Israel won't mind when poison and nerve gas is seeping out of rockets and missiles landing in haifa and tel aviv then.

The US is building up in the Gulf for our new war with Iran.

for Lebanon to liberate the Galilee and as much of Northern Palestine as possible while the zionists cover in fear of the Iranian and Syrian missiles.

of Israel will ask their parents, is the entire sky over us on fire? and they will be told, no, Persia is awake.

haha

Israel is running out of markets for is wars?

I'm an American, I support press freedom. But if for one minute the censor's who ran that original Friday article thought it was wise to comment on an eventual policy decision was foolish. I understand this is a leftist newspaper, as was the paper from Friday. That said, please, for the sake of the entire nation, stop commenting publicly on matters like this before the fact. Why? With proper notice, Israel can be embarrassed by their defenses. You're already at a disadvantage with the distance over hostile airspace to travel, the last thing you need is an even more readied Iran.

The leftist media loves to try and scare people of bibi.

This would spell the end of Israel.

I cannot believe that this man would , in his chest beating way, take the nation to catasrophe. Does he think that mutually assured destruction means that one is obliged to seek destruction? The US and Russia continue to live with their nuclear arsenals unused. But Israel seems to have a death wish.

I think we might need an israeli autumn or we will have a very long and cold winter.

as much as I love Israel,you must have a death wish

A freelancer maybe?

It will take great courage and many sacrifices.

...loves war as much as the state of Israel and its nefarious acolytes apparently do. In this case, I would just say: do it !! You did not manage to prevail over of couple of hundred Hizbollah fighters in the recent Lebanon altercation, so I am eager to see how you deal with million iranis at arms. Keep up the good spirit folks !

I know we don't really like the Israeli government on this website, but give them more credit, I think even they understand this would be a totally irrational move. They're not going to attack Iran unless they were attacked first.

Please agree to a nuclear free Middle East. Join the NPT and give up your illegal weapons of mass destruction.

to demonstrate Israeli patience and understanding. Then Israel will enjoy the world's affection and approval. For sure.

I would actually love it if Israel attacked Iran. We all know that the minute we do the state of Israel is done for. Any Jew in Israel knows this and those that try to act like Israel is invincible to all enemies are just keyboard revolutionaries.

Whether the US will join the attack or not, Iran would love the opportunity to attack Israel. Such an attack will solve many of Iran's problems and direct the attention to the hatred of Israel.

If missiles rain down, Mr. Netanyahu and his fellow friends have their nuclear-safe bunker to hide out in. Someone tell these politicians that this isn't a video game.

Oh the things you can afford for less than 10 shekels

Their people will thank you :)

No matter how much attention this matter gets, people need to understand that Netanyahu, Barak and Lieberman all know that such an attack would be completely suicidal on all levels. I think that most Israelis would rather live with a nuclear Iran, and develop their own defensive and second strike capabilities rather than go into a war that would take about 20 years to resolve, and cause thousands if not millions of deaths.

How does he think he's going to attack Iran, logistically speaking? Idiotic as America has been recently, I don't see it stepping up to do Israel's dirty work again...not so soon after Iraq...

When it comes to Israel power, we read all over the internet that how many nuclear missiles Israel has. Even on discussions about possible Turkey conflicts, I've seen many comments here, sent by Israelis as Israel could win a war against Turkey because Israel has such powerful nuclear missiles. Now, really hard to understand, why noone ever say anything about Israel nuclear missiles ?!?

The consequences on the Israeli public and the entire mideast population would be enormous.....

A first stike on Iran will prempt WWIII. Sould this take place it is doubtfull that any Jew in the Diaspora will ever free to live in peace, as for the people in Israel, a scorched earth feeds no one.

we are not ready yet hurry up

attacking Iran will open the door for Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and every other militant group in Gaza to attack as well.