Middle East Monitor / August 23, 2023
Israeli media outlets have criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he accused Iran of directing resistance counterattacks in the occupied West Bank.
On Monday, Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant claimed the resistance counter attacks are being directed by Iran.
“We are in the midst of a terrorist onslaught that is being encouraged, directed and financed by Iran and its proxies,” claimed Netanyahu.
He made his comment following the resistance attacks that led to the death of three Israelis in the Palestinian village of Huwara, which was attacked earlier this year by illegal Jewish settlers backed by occupation forces.
Channel 13 journalist Raviv Drucker said for years Israel has mocked Arab countries who blamed Israel for every negative incident.
Druker said he was not sure if Netanyahu had made his claims within the framework of an attempt to launch a campaign against the Iranian nuclear issue because of the outstanding negotiations there, adding that no one believes Netanyahu and Gallant’s claims.
Drucker described Netanyahu’s accusations as “very shameful”, adding that the Israeli right-wing government led by Netanyahu is looking for an “escape goat” or “anyone” to blame for the operations.
For his part, a senior commentator and the head of the Arab desk in Channel 13 News, Zvi Yehezkeli said Iran may have helped with delivering the weapons, but it is not directly involved in the operations, adding that Israel is still at war, “an intifada (popular uprising)”, with the Palestinians.
Alon Ben David, a military affairs analyst at Channel 13 indicated that “accusing Iran of directing the [Hebron] operation is a very easy solution, as Iran is not responsible for the complex dilemma in the West Bank, in which there are many Israelis, who live among the Palestinian population.”
