Israelis woke up on Sunday morning with a tentative collective sense of relief. For the first time ever, Iran had attacked Israel directly, sending a barrage of more than 300 drones and various missiles intended to rain down on Israel. Instead, Israel and a coalition of its allies intercepted 99% of the threats, according to Israeli authorities – mostly before they reached Israeli territory. Those that arrived caused only limited damage.
Many Israelis felt the country had dodged a bullet. But members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government want to fire back, which would add one more front to a war that is already dangerously overstretched. The ultra-nationalists in Netanyahu’s cabinet insist that the only way to achieve fear and admiration in the Middle East is to “go berserk”, in the words of Itamar Ben-Gvir, an extremist minister who holds the portfolio, ironically, of national security. He is joined by a posse of fanatical men running the government who are beating war drums.
