There is no dispute over the severity of the situation. Defense Minister Benny Gantz, former Defense Minister Ehud Barak, former Netanyahu advisers Meir Ben-Shabbat and Ron Drummer, military commentators – all agree that Iran is on the verge of producing enough fissile material to build a nuclear bomb.
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This is the situation Israel has done everything in its power to prevent. While it must be made clear that Iran will not have a nuclear bomb right away, as far as we know, the regime will have it within the next few months, at the earliest.
One way or another, progress or regression depends on the Iranian decision alone. The international community, including Israel and the United States, has no leverage over the ayatollah's regime. A knife is being held to the neck.
Due to the current development, which poses the biggest danger Israel has experienced since its inception, the government can no longer attempt to stall the process and bury its head in the sand.
The last 15 years have had plenty of debates in the Israeli system as to what the right policy towards Iran is. Some supported a preemptive strike, others opposed it. Some praised then-Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech at Congress, others condoned it. All the while, accusing each other of serious allegations. Right now, past battles are insignificant. History will tell who was right and who was wrong. First, we must make sure that history continues.
This is in no way an exaggeration, but a consensus. While Iran, as a nuclear threshold state, might not kill tens of thousands of Israelis with one bomb, it will surely undermine the Israeli defense establishment's freedom of action.
Even though Tehran does not have nuclear capabilities yet, the IDF already carefully considers each step it takes due to rocket threats from the Gaza Strip. If Iran became a nuclear threshold state the Israeli military could be deterred altogether.
This is the main reason why experts involved have agreed throughout the years that not only must Israel prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, but also from becoming a nuclear threshold state.
Due to the severity of the matter, we must put past disputes aside and leave political interests behind to mobilize all forces to stop Iran and stop it immediately.
Israel must form an emergency government, which would include lawmakers from all political affiliations relevant to deterring Iran. Netanyahu, Barak, Former Foreign Affairs Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, former Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, Former Opposition Leader Tzipi Livni, Former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon, and others, including all current members of the government, must be part of the united emergency coalition.
It is not a political call, but an existential one. The enemy is taking advantage of the division among us. Our answer should be unity. We need a united emergency coalition to cur Iran, not only because action is required, but also to encourage the international community to do the same.
As a decade ago, so too now the threat of action on behalf of Israel can cause the US to leave its fantasies behind and start moving. However, unless they do so soon, we might need to turn to the preemptive solution for Mecca. Paying the heavy price of stopping Iran now is preferable to dealing with it once it has laid its hands on a doomsday weapon.
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