US-Israel war on Iran
Analysis
Netanyahu’s latest war has few critics in an Israel embracing militarism
Emma Graham-Harrison and Quique Kierszenbaum in Tel Aviv
Attack on Iran has widespread support, with little questioning of whether it is best option for lasting security
US-Israel war on Iran – latest updates
Mon 2 Mar 2026
In June, Benjamin Netanyahu declared “a historic victory, which will stand for generations” after the 12-day war on Iran.
His decision to attack Iran again, less than a year later, was greeted with broad and enthusiastic support from Israeli politicians, including the prime minister’s bitter rivals, and a public willing to endure death and massive disruption to their lives.
Few prominent Israelis have asked questions about why the legacy of one historic victory is another war – or whether the stated goal of regime change from the air is realistic.
After Iran acknowledged the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, had been killed, backing for the war deepened even as deaths and damage from Iranian attacks mounted inside Israel.
“The only thing I’m sorry is that we didn’t do it earlier, last June,” a 30-year-old Tel Aviv tech worker, Tom Yaakov, said as he inspected damage to his apartment building from an Iranian missile strike. “It’s like an Israeli story I can tell my children, the tyrant was down and my building was hit.”
That strike killed a 28-year-old Filipina care worker, who was hit by shrapnel taking her employer to a bomb shelter. Hours later, nine people were killed in a direct missile hit on a bomb shelter in Beit Shemesh.
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Footage shows aftermath of Iranian strike in Beit Shemesh – video
Donald Trump and Netanyahu seem to share a world vision that substitutes military superiority, targeted killings and the prospect of constant war for international relations, negotiations and lasting treaties.
Khamenei’s assassination was a spectacular display of their combined military and espionage strength.
How Israeli sleight and US might led to the assassination of Ali Khamenei
Read more
But Israel’s spy agencies have a decades-long track record of taking out high-profile enemies, from generations of Hamas commanders in Gaza to the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in assassinations that did not destroy the groups these men headed.
By contrast, peace treaties with Jordan and Egypt, which brought lasting stability with countries once considered bitter enemies, are rarely celebrated by Israel’s current political leaders, said Mairav Zonszein, a senior Israel analyst at the International Crisis Group.
Those pacts’ crucial role in Israeli life was underlined in this war when the two countries offered the only route home for Israelis trapped outside the country when airspace was closed to civilian flights.
View image in fullscreenMunicipality workers clear rubble from a wine bar damaged by the missile explosion in Tel Aviv. Photograph: Quique Kierszenbaum/The GuardianThere are plenty of regional examples from recent decades that could provide pause for thought over what can follow the death or departure of much-hated dictators, from civil war in Libya after the death of Muammar Gaddafi to the violent collapse of Iraq and the rise of Islamic State after the US-led invasion of 2003 toppled Saddam Hussein.
The Iranian-born Israeli journalist and activist Orly Noy dismissed claims from Trump and Netanyahu that the attacks aimed to support Iranians fighting for change in their country.
“It takes a considerable amount of naivety to believe that what matters to them is the wellbeing of the Iranian citizens, or support for their struggle to free themselves from this oppressive regime.”
But there is little mainstream questioning of whether Israel’s use of military power is the best way to guarantee lasting security, Zonszein said. “It’s perplexing why Israelis aren’t having that conversation enough. I think over the last 20 years, Israelis have just been less and less interested in these deeper questions.”
The public embrace of militarism is driven in part by Israel’s rapid economic growth and the expansion of its hi-tech military sector over recent decades, said Alon Liel, a former Israeli ambassador to South Africa and director general of the country’s foreign ministry.
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Moment blast from Iranian missile damages Tel Aviv restaurant – video
“I often say it is impossible for Israel to live on the sword for ever, but there are very few Jews in Israel who think like me,” he said. “Forty or 50 years ago we were a very weak and small country in the Middle East. Israelis see ourselves now as at least a regional superpower.
“People say: we are not 80 years old yet, and look how powerful this country is. Look how our economy survived these two and a half years of war. And look at our skyline, and look at the sales of arms all over the world.”
Netanyahu has presided over that economic expansion and the military technology boom for much of the last three decades, and so is credited in part for both by many voters, Liel said.
This latest war offers him a chance to bolster his legacy and his political standing before elections that must be held before October.
Fierce domestic debate about responsibility for the 7 October 2023 attacks, which occurred on Netanyahu’s watch, was instantly set aside.
View image in fullscreenKilling Khamenei, a leader who called for Israel’s destruction and sponsored a network of hostile groups across the region, makes it easier for the prime minister to campaign as a hardline security candidate.
“For Netanyahu, there are two possible benefits that might be derived: a blow to Iran, and the possibility that this might tip the scales and usher him to victory in the elections,” Nadav Eyal wrote in the daily Yedioth Ahronoth. “Netanyahu probably does not draw any distinction between the strategic aspect and the political aspect, and that is putting things gently.”
Trump’s request for Israel’s president to issue a pre-emptive pardon for Netanyahu in a long-running corruption trial may gather force if the war plays out in a way that the US and Israel can claim as victory.
Some analysts sounded a note of caution that the war would bring election dividends for Netanyahu. “Despite all assumptions [Netanyahu] got no poll boost from the June war,” said Dahlia Scheindlin, a Tel Aviv-based political analyst.
“It could be different this time but it is really important to watch surveys carefully because many commentators wrongly reported his coming triumph after June – and the polls just weren’t there.”
Even if Netanyahu loses power this year, Israel’s wars of aggression inside occupied Palestine and against regional enemies are likely to continue, Zonszein said.
“Until Israelis feel it in their pockets, or until there’s even more mass killings [of Israelis] or until the international community stops them, then it’s just going to keep going unfortunately.”
Mairav Zonszein
Mairav Zonszein is a contributing Opinion writer. A journalist and political commentator covering Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, U.S. foreign policy and Jewish identity politics, she is the senior Israel analyst with the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit think tank dedicated to conflict prevention. She lives in Tel Aviv.
Alon Liel
Alon Liel | |
|---|---|
| אלון ליאֵל | |
 Liel in 2010 | |
| Ambassador of Israel to South Africa | |
| In office 1992–1994 | |
| Chargé d'Affaires at the Israeli Embassy in Turkey | |
| In office 1981–1983 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 31 October 1948 |
| Spouse | Rachel Liel |
| Children | Daphna Liel |
Alon Liel (Hebrew: אלון ליאֵל; born 31 October 1948) is an Israeli international relations scholar and former diplomat.
He served as the Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Planning from 1994 to 1996, and as the Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs for about six months, he also served as the Chargé d'Affaires at the Israeli Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, and as Ambassador to South Africa.
Career
In 1979, Liel was appointed to his first position outside of Israel, as Deputy Consul in Chicago. He later served as the Chargé d'Affaires in Turkey (1981), deputy director of the Middle East Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1984), advisor to the political director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and head of the South Africa desk (1986), spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1988), consul in Atlanta (1990), and Ambassador of Israel to South Africa (1992).
After his tenure in South Africa ended in 1994, Minister of Economy and Planning Shimon Shtrit appointed him as the Director General of his ministry, a position he held until the ministry was dissolved by Yossi Beilin in 1996. In 1997, he founded the company "Global Code," specializing in consulting and research for companies operating in Turkey. Concurrently, he served as an advisor to Ehud Barak on foreign affairs while Barak was serving as Leader of the Opposition, and also lectured in international relations programs at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, and the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. His lectures primarily focused on issues related to Turkey and South Africa, as well as the fundamentals of diplomacy.
During the 1999 Knesset elections and Prime Minister elections, he served as an advisor to Ehud Barak[1] In this capacity, he was also linked to the Barak's NGO scandal[2] After David Levy resigned as Foreign Minister in 2000, Prime Minister of Israel Barak appointed him as Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The appointment took effect in early November 2000,[3] shortly before Shlomo Ben-Ami was appointed Foreign Minister. Following the establishment of the 29th government, Shimon Peres became Foreign Minister and decided to appoint Avi Gil in Liel's place. The appointment was made in April 2001.[4] Liel then served as a director at the investment and real estate company "Gazit Inc", and as chair of the Israel-Turkey Business Council.
From 2006 to 2008, he privately managed (with the knowledge of the Israeli government) a channel for secret talks with Syrian officials through the Swiss government.[5] In 2009, Liel headed the movement for peace between Israel and Syria.
In an article for the South African newspaper "Business Day" in 2012, Liel called for a boycott of settlement products. This article sparked significant criticism within the political and public arenas in Israel[citation needed]. Liel also supported author Alice Walker's decision to boycott Israel and not republish her book "The Color Purple" in Israel.[5] In 2015, he participated in an appeal to the government of Brazil requesting that it not approve Israel's intention to appoint Danny Danon as Israel's Ambassador to Brazil.[6] In December 2015, he signed a petition for members of the European Parliament calling for them, following the parliament's decision on product labeling from Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights, to escalate measures distinguishing between Israel within the Green Line and "the occupied territories".[7]
In January 2016, recordings were published in "Yedioth Ahronoth" made by the organization "Enough - Youth for Israel" documenting a conversation between Liel and members of the organization Breaking the Silence, where Liel is heard saying to the organization's members that although they have the legitimacy of two percent of the Israeli public, one cannot wait due to the expansion of the settlements and must act outside of Israel. He recommended that activists apply pressure for an international boycott that could only influence Israel, as happened in South Africa: "You are the tip of the spear that tells the world that the occupation is intolerable for us and intolerable for them. It is intolerable for both peoples, and once there is recognition that it is intolerable, things will start to unfold". Liel also recommended pursuing a decision from the United Nations Security Council that Palestine is a member state, which would make Israel an occupier of a UN member state. He also suggested initiating a sporting boycott of Israel. In response to the publications, Liel stated that he opposes a boycott of Israel.[citation needed]
In December 2019, Liel began promoting a "Joint Democratic and Electoral Struggle Front" of Meretz with the Joint List (Ra'am) for the Knesset.[8]
From 2008 to 2013, he served as a member of the Mevaseret Zion council on behalf of the "Mevaseret on a Different Level" party. He also served as the chairman of the football club, Hapoel Abu Ghosh/Mevaseret Zion.[8]
Regarding Israel's treatment of Jonathan Pollard, Liel stated: "Even when I was the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I don't remember a single time that the Pollard issue came up. There was not a single discussion at the level of the director general where we talked about it".[9]
Current Activities
Liel is a member of the board of the organization "Sikuy - Promoting Civil Equality", the organization Ir Amim and in the public council of B'Tselem, and he is a member of the "All Citizens" party.[citation needed]
Liel also believes that since it would grant Palestinians equality with Israelis, the United Nations' recognition of the state of Palestine and its membership are essential to getting Israel to the negotiating table.[10]
Family
Alon Liel is married to Rachel Liel, who is part of the leadership of the New Israel Fund (board president as of 2023, formerly Israel director).[11] They have three children, one of whom is the Knesset reporter Daphna Liel.[12]
Publications
- Turkey in the Middle East, Kibbutz Meuhad Publishing, 1993
- Black Justice - The South African Revolution, Kibbutz Meuhad, 1999
- Turkey: Military, Islam, and Politics, Kibbutz Meuhad, 1999
- Demo-Islam - A New Regime in Turkey, Kibbutz Meuhad, 2003
- The Equality Gate: South Africa Builds a Nation, Kibbutz Meuhad, 2011
- Alon Liel and Yehuda Litani, And We Shall Break Them, Kibbutz Meuhad, 2024
See also
- Israel–Turkey relations
- 2004 Israel–New Zealand passport scandal
- United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19 accepting Palestine as a non-member observer state in the United Nations General Assembly
- Independent Israel–Syria Peace Initiatives
References
- רציתי לעשות משהו שיטביע חותם במדינה [I Wanted to Do Something That Would Leave a Mark on the Country]. Globes (in Hebrew). 4 January 2001. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- "רשם העמותות: צ'רלס ברונפמן מימן סקרים לברק - בלא שידע" [Registrar of Associations: Charles Bronfman Funded Polls for Barak – Without His Knowledge]. Globes (in Hebrew). 9 September 2003. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- "ברק: איתן בנצור לא ימונה לשגריר" [Barak: Eitan Ben-Tsur Will Not Be Appointed Ambassador]. Walla! News (in Hebrew). 18 September 2000. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- "פרס החליט: גיל מנכ"ל משרד החוץ במקום ליאל" [Peres Decided: Gil Appointed Director General of the Foreign Ministry Instead of Liel]. Haaretz (in Hebrew). 11 March 2001. Archived from the original on 15 December 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- "בכיר ישראלי לשעבר נפגש עם שגריר סורי" [Former Senior Israeli Official Met with Syrian Ambassador]. Haaretz (in Hebrew). 28 February 2008. Archived from the original on 15 December 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- "שגרירים לשעבר פנו למשרד החוץ הברזילאי: אל תסכימו למינוי דני דיין לשגריר" [Former Ambassadors Appeal to Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Do Not Approve Appointment of Dani Danon as Ambassador]. Haaretz (in Hebrew). 20 September 2015. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- "קבוצת אלון ליאל קוראת לאירופה להחריף את הצעדים נגד ישראל" [Alon Liel's Group Calls on Europe to Intensify Measures Against Israel]. Makor Rishon (in Hebrew). 15 January 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- "בכירים במרצ קוראים לחיבור עם המשותפת לקראת בחירות שלישיות" [Senior Figures in Meretz Call for a Partnership with the Joint List Ahead of the Third Elections]. Mekomit (in Hebrew). 4 December 2019. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- "החלטורה של ביבי והקשר האמריקאי" [Bibi's Blunder and the American Connection]. Makor Rishon (in Hebrew). 20 November 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- Mulla, Imran (24 January 2025). "Former senior Israeli diplomat says UK support would secure Palestinian statehood". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 24 January 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
- Merav Betito (3 July 2015). "'We are the real patriots'". Ynetnews. Archived from the original on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
- Naomi Paiss (13 August 2009). "'Influential Woman' Rachel Liel Named Israel Executive Director for New Israel Fund". New Israel Fund.
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