Israeli Establishment Divided On Iran Policy

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has added his voice to those Israelis opposed to a military attack on Iran.

Olmert was Israel’s prime minister from 2006 to 2009, during which time the military allegedly carried out Operation Orchard: the bombing of Syrian nuclear facilities by Israeli war planes to stop the development of nuclear weapons.

Olmert’s call for restraint echoes statements by the former head of Israel’s internal security, Yuval Diskin, and the former head of Mossad, Meir Dagan.

Diskin has reportedly blasted Israel’s leadership and criticized its handling of the situation with Iran.

CNN reported that Diskin accused Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of creating “a false public impression about the Iranian bomb, as though acting against Iran would prevent a nuclear bomb. But attacking Iran will encourage them to develop a bomb all the faster.”