Less than a week after the Memorandum of Understanding between Tehran and Washington ended – at least for now – the three-month-long, stalled US-Israeli war against Iran, the verdict has come from Washington's main ally, Israel.
A recent poll found that an overwhelming majority of Israelis, 92 percent, feel that the United States has „given away” their victory over a decades-old enemy. Nearly half of those polled said Israel should continue its attacks on Lebanon and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah group, regardless of the urgings of Washington, its main ally and supporter.
Israel has spent the years since the surprise Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, that killed 1,139 people, waging a series of wars in the region. It has committed genocide in Gaza, killing more than 73,000 Palestinians and razing much of the territory to the ground. It has twice attacked Iran, killed thousands in Lebanon in a fight against Iran-allied Hezbollah, carried out several ground incursions into Syria, and carried out sporadic strikes on the Houthis in Yemen, who are also allies of Tehran.
In Israel's divided parliament, support for the country's wars is one of the few points on which there is consensus, even as politicians argue over how to carry them out.
In going to war with Iran, Gadi Eisenkot, Israel’s former chief of staff—a potential successor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—did not hold back. In an interview in early March, shortly after the joint US-Israeli strikes began, he called the unprovoked attacks on Tehran „the most just war in decades against the most ferocious enemy.”.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid was equally supportive of the attacks, his enthusiasm for renewed conflict against Iran and Hezbollah only surpassed by the anger he felt over Washington’s deal with Tehran. He described the US decision as „one of the most shocking failures of Israeli foreign and security policy,” adding that „it is entirely at Netanyahu’s expense.”.
Daniel Bar-Tal, an Israeli sociologist at Tel Aviv University, says Israel’s reaction is not at all surprising. He says it is the result of a process in Israeli politics, media, and society that has linked the 2023 Hamas attack to a „central anchor” of Israeli identity: the Holocaust. In this light, the attack has been framed not „as a horrific event in its own right, but as the latest chapter in a much older story of Jewish historical trauma.”.
Bar-Tal added that „the justice of national goals, the glorification of the Jewish nation [and] the consciousness of collective sacrifice,” as well as „the delegitimization of the Palestinians,” are deeply ingrained in the consciousness of most Israelis, and therefore play a crucial role in supporting the country’s wars.
Profits and losses
Despite nearly three years of near-continuous and unchallenged war, few in Israel believe the country is significantly safer than it was before October 7. In Gaza, Hamas still controls much of the territory, while in Iran, the regime—which Netanyahu reportedly told his American allies would collapse within days of the start of the war—remains firmly in place.
„There is no specific outcome that will stop this eternal war,” said Israeli analyst and academic Shaiel Ben-Ephraim. He believes there are two main drivers behind the seemingly endless war effort. One reflects Israel’s current circumstances, and the other reflects a fundamental shift in Israeli consciousness since October 7.
With elections due at the end of the year approaching, Netanyahu is campaigning while still carrying the burden of the October 7 attack, the ongoing corruption trial against him, and the apparent failure to deal with Iran and Hezbollah.
„Netanyahu believes that as long as there is a war, he can avoid accountability for corruption charges and responsibility for October 7 and its unpreventability,” explained Ben-Ephraim, adding that Netanyahu’s government rivals also offer no meaningful alternative to the multi-front conflicts initiated by the government.
„The Israeli military and all the main contenders for the prime ministership – Netanyahu, [Naftali] Bennett and Eisenkot – espouse a defense doctrine that believes in suppressing any threat before it develops, and that there is no deterrence or diplomatic agreement. This is the result of the failure of October 7, when from the Israeli perspective all such measures failed. The result is not only the desire for the complete destruction of Gaza and southern Lebanon, but also the complete and irreversible elimination of Iran, [Turkey] and any other potential threat,” he said.
A member of a civilian response team looks to the sky as he searches for an enemy drone in Metula, on the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanese border [File: Amir Cohen/Reuters]
Whatever achievements Israel claims for itself in Lebanon, the possibility of a future threat makes the next war almost certain, Ben-Ephraim argues.
„No possible outcome will stop this,” he concluded. „This is a pathology born of trauma and political necessity. Only a complete reversal of Israel’s strategic fortunes can change this future.”
