Question:

Sada Al Balad published on its website, Thursday 9/3/2023, “The Pentagon announced today, Thursday, that the US Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin, agreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to increase cooperation to confront Iranian aggression.” The meeting’s venue was moved from the Ministry of Defence to Tel Aviv Airport due to the wave of protests: [“The Pentagon said that Austin’s meetings were moved from the Israeli Ministry of Defence to near Tel Aviv Airport. Tens of thousands protestors took place in the streets of Israeli cities for the ninth week in a row on Saturday against the plan of the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to amend the judicial system.” (Reuters 8/3/2023)]. What is the point of these high-ranking American military officials visiting the Jewish entity? Does it have a significant relationship with the Russian war on Ukraine? Or is it to cool down the Palestinian arena? Or that these visits are different and have other goals? May Allah reward you with the good.

Answer:

To clarify the answer, we review the following:

First: It is unlikely that these visits will be to prevent the Jewish state from appeasement of Russia in its war on Ukraine and not to take a hostile stance like America, in order to avoid angering Russia, which allows the Jewish state to bomb targets inside Syria without hindrance from its air defense systems in Syria, especially that the entity's government is mired in an internal battle with the opposition, and therefore does not consider catching up with Western countries in their support of the Ukrainian army a priority for it, and therefore it is unlikely that the Ukrainian issue is a reason for visits by American officials.

Likewise, it is unlikely that these visits would be to calm the situation in the Palestinian arena. Despite its intensity and sensitivity and being the main subject of visits by former American officials (the Secretary of State, the Director of Central Intelligence, and the National Security Adviser), they cannot be a reason for visits by military officials such as the Chief of Staff and the Secretary of Defense. Despite its sensitivity, its nature is not warlike, for America to mobilize the energies of its senior military officials.

Second: However, it seems that the visit is for other motives… and it can be understood from the following factors:

1- Netanyahu was a close friend of the US Republican Party, and he stood against Democratic President Obama when he signed a nuclear agreement with Iran in 2015. He really irritated Obama, especially his speech in the US Congress against the nuclear agreement, and his relationship with America was very intimate during the Trump administration, which rewarded Netanyahu by moving its embassy to Jerusalem, recognized his annexation of the Golan and gave him the Deal of the Century in the West Bank, which was not completed.

2- After the new US Democratic President Biden came, he worked to support the alliance of the Lapid and Bennett parties, and succeeded in that, and then Netanyahu was defeated in the March 2021 elections, after which a new coalition of the Bennett–Lapid parties assumed power in the Jewish entity. However, this success did not last long. Rather, Netanyahu cooperated with the hard-right parties and won the November 2022 elections.

3- Netanyahu insisted on forming the ministry in alliance with hard-right parties and turned his back on the desires of the Biden administration to form a government that includes the group loyal to the Biden administration (Lapid and Gantz in particular). When the positions of this new government were announced, he was subjected to severe and unusual American criticism, such as the necessity of preserving the two-state solution, rejecting dealing with ministers who were described as extremist in his government, and the third is criticism of Netanyahu's policies regarding changing the status of the judiciary in the Jewish entity, which are usually considered internal issues, but America criticized this policy publicly and encouraged its loyal parties to oppose Netanyahu's steps to dominate the judiciary.

4- The Jewish opposition did not give Netanyahu much time, and widespread protests made their way against him rapidly and with a force unfamiliar to the Jewish entity. The struggle for power emerged in a manner similar to breaking a bone. A new picture emerged in the Jewish entity that had never existed on this scale: demonstrations in the tens of thousands against the government and its measures to make the judiciary in the hands of the government, the demonstrators besieged the homes of government officials, closing the streets and burning tires in them, and tear gas and stun grenades fired by the Jewish police against Jews, and matters began to develop more and more. Some police officials disobeyed orders to disperse the demonstrators by force, the dispute raged between the government and the opposition, the Jews were divided into two opposing camps, capitalists began to make their way to escape from the Jewish entity, 50 large companies left, and reserve officers declared their inability to obey the orders of this government... and the atmosphere became tense strongly between supporters of the government and supporters of the opposition at all levels. The positions of the Biden administration reeked of advocacy for the Jewish opposition against Netanyahu.

Third: In the face of this situation close to chaos, Netanyahu tried to gather the ranks of the Jews behind him and rushed to pour gas on the already blazing fire in the Palestinian arena. That began by raising the pace of Jewish storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and carrying out new massacres in Jenin and Nablus. Netanyahu wanted to show the Jews the determination of his position against the Palestinians. Hoping to calm the internal situation down, so that he can change the judiciary in his favour, so that all corruption charges against him in Jewish courts will be withdrawn; which is a sword hanging around his neck for a long time, but that did not happen. Instead, the escalation against the Palestinians backfired on him, as the Jenin camp massacre was immediately met with the killing of eight Jews in Jerusalem, and the Nablus massacre was met with the operations of Hawara and Jericho, and so Netanyahu became in a more critical situation, especially as he was met with more inflammation of the opposition within the Jewish entity, which increased his accusation of security failure and that his policies expose the Jews to more Palestinian strikes, here Netanyahu had to find another solution.

Fourth: Accordingly, Netanyahu has quickly modified his plan towards striking Iran, as a way to unite the ranks of the Jews behind him and ensure his retention of power. This is for several reasons, most notably the following:

1- While the Palestinians respond to the Jewish entity blow by blow, the governments of the surrounding and nearby countries are submissive and do not respond effectively. Syria does not respond to the blows of the Jews, as well as Iraq. Even Iran, which was recently hit by drones on military factories in Isfahan and accused the Jewish entity, its response was after two weeks with a dull drone attack on a ship in the Arabian Sea owned by a Jew, and that strike did not result in any injuries, but rather light damage to the ship. Before that, Iran accused the Jewish entity of sabotaging nuclear facilities, which the former president said had caused a loss of 10 billion dollars, and Iran did not respond and so on... That is, Netanyahu estimates that Iran's response to any attack will be a small response, so Netanyahu will win the round according to his expectations, and this encourages him to continue his aggression.

2- With regard to the Iranian nuclear issue, Iran is subject to major and continuous international criticism. The negotiations did not succeed in restoring the nuclear agreement with the major powers, and because the Jewish entity declares that it cannot allow Iran to reach the nuclear threshold, this constitutes a great justification for it to launch strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities. In this context, Iran is accused by the West of violating the red lines and increasing the degree of uranium enrichment: [Iran can produce enough weapons-grade materials to make a nuclear bomb in just 12 days, and it can produce four more bombs within a month, according to the Institute for Science and International Security. A report by the Institute indicated that the Iranian regime could enrich enough uranium to manufacture a total of seven nuclear weapons in three months, according to the Institute in a report analyzing information provided by the International Atomic Energy Agency. (Al-Arabiya Net, 5/3/2023)].

Fifth: scrutinizing, we find that Netanyahu focused on these matters and exploited them by attempting to initiate strong attacks against Iran that would lead to unite the close ranks of the Jews around his rule, and end the internal chaos that could weaken his rule if he surrendered to it and did not take any major action and on another arena, to restore to him the glow of power and tyranny and turns the internal equation in his favour. It seems that the news of these intentions and plans of the Netanyahu government have reached Washington, which hastened to prevent the Netanyahu government from taking such a step. America's concern, according to its interests in the current circumstances, is directed towards Russia's war with Ukraine in addition to the issue of China, and it does not want to be preoccupied with a war in the region between Iran and the Jewish state. America has seen that Netanyahu, in order to solve his internal problems, is seriously thinking of starting a war with Iran, thus embarrassing Biden by intervening, because America announces in its many statements that it is committed to the security of the Jewish state, and as we mentioned above, America is now preoccupied with other wars.

Sixth: That is why the visits of these high-level American military officials to the Jewish entity were to discourage Netanyahu from this war so that he would not embarrass Biden by intervening at a time when America does not want to be preoccupied with anything other than China and the Russian war on Ukraine. These visits were accompanied by two factors to achieve America's interests, as mentioned above:

Firstly: America pushed the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency to soften the nuclear statements and soften them with Iran, as the head of this agency visited it and met with senior Iranian officials during the same visits of American officials to the region, and announced a major breakthrough and stated: “Iran agreed to restart the surveillance cameras in several nuclear sites and an increase in the frequency of inspections.” (RT, 4/3/2023). Then the striking statement of the agency director, according to Al-Jazeera Net, 5/3/2023: (Grossi said during his visit to Tehran yesterday, Saturday, that “any military attack on a nuclear facility is outlawed.” Netanyahu replied, “Rafael Grossi … made an unworthy remark”.

Secondly: the intensity of the internal protests against Netanyahu. America, above the fact that it does not want the Jewish entity to ignite a war against Iran at the present time, it wants Netanyahu to remain mired in internal chaos and for the state of protest to remain strong and with momentum in the hope that this situation will overthrow the Netanyahu government, so that America’s followers, i.e., the supporters of the Democratic Party, will return to power again in the Jewish entity...especially since America has a great influence within the Jewish entity in the political and military circle.

Seventh: It appears from the above that America will likely be able to prevent Netanyahu from starting an offensive war against Iran, especially since the Jewish entity is too cowardly to carry out such a war without America's support

[ضُرِبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الذِّلَّةُ أَيْنَ مَا ثُقِفُوا إِلَّا بِحَبْلٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَحَبْلٍ مِنَ النَّاسِ]

“They have been put under humiliation [by Allāh] wherever they are overtaken, except for a rope [i.e., covenant] from Allāh and a rope [i.e., treaty] from the people [i.e., the Muslims]” [Aal-i-Imran: 112].

And the rope of Allah was severed after their Prophets, and the rope of people is their reality, this is on the one hand. On the other hand, if Netanyahu loses his hope of carrying out such an attack on Iran, he will continue and with advice from his masters in the American Republican Party to take any other offensive step that would make the opposition movements against him lose their momentum. He may find no choice but to return to further heat up the Palestinian arena or strike the Gaza Strip or Lebanon, as he is obsessed with remaining in power and cannot imagine leaving it after he gathered around him a coalition of right-wing parties and the Jewish religious right, who are thirstier than him to spill the blood of Muslims anywhere.

This is what began to appear, as Sama News published on Thursday, 9/3/2023: (Three Palestinians were shot dead by the occupation forces, who assassinated them this morning in the town of Jaba’, Jenin district. Israeli special forces infiltrated the town of Jaba’, south of Jenin, and opened fire at a vehicle in which four young men were traveling, killing three young men. Military reinforcements arrived in the town, amid clashes with resistance groups, before those forces withdrew.) France 24 also published on 10/3/2023: (Jerusalem AFP - A Palestinian was killed Friday by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank, according to what the Israeli army and the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced; on the eve of a new day in the spiral of violence, four Palestinians were killed, one of whom was the perpetrator of an armed attack in Tel Aviv, which left three wounded. On Thursday, a Palestinian opened fire on Dizengoff Street in central Tel Aviv, injuring three people, before he was killed in turn by police bullets. Israeli medical sources reported that the condition of one of the wounded is "critical" today. On the other hand, the Israeli police said that they arrested two… one from the city of Ramla, south of Tel Aviv, and the other from the city of Kisefa in the Negev (south), "on suspicion of transporting the terrorist" who carried out the Dizengoff operation.)