In Israel, Outrage Across The Board

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  1. Interesting article – here is an interesting bit behind the paywall:

    Mr. Netanyahu’s foes were also critical, underscoring Israel’s widespread rejection of an agreement with Tehran. “On the Iranian nuclear issue there is no opposition and coalition,” said Yair Lapid, head of centrist party Yesh Atid. “We are all concerned that the Iranians will circumvent the deal and Israel must protect its own security interests.”

    That skepticism was also expressed by Israelis outside politics. Erez Hamami, a real-estate lawyer from a Tel Aviv suburb, said the details of the agreement hardly mattered because he doesn’t trust Iran to comply.

    “This is not the way you negotiate with bullies. You should only negotiate with the Iranians when they are on their knees,” he said. “The problem is that [U.S. Secretary of State John] Kerry put himself on the same level as them. You don’t chase after them.”

    On Israel’s state-owned radio network Israel Radio, popular diplomatic analyst Chico Menashe criticized the agreement for “bringing Iran into the international tent through an American doorway.” Mr. Menashe said he thought the country couldn’t be trusted not to break its word.

    Israel has long argued that it has more at stake in the deal than any other country, warning that an Iranian nuclear weapon could launch an arms race in a region where Israel is believed to be the sole nuclear power.

    Israeli analysts also have concerns about what an agreement might mean for Iran’s proxies. Lebanon’s militant political group Hezbollah fought two wars with Israel using Iranian weapons and financing, and Iran has maintained ties to the Islamists of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and fought a 50-day war against Israel last summer.

    Dore Gold, a member of Mr. Netanyahu’s inner circle, said a deal would stoke Iran’s growing influence in Iraq and Yemen and established presence in Lebanon and Syria. “While this is going on we will see Iranian intervention on a scale that has never been witnessed,” he said.

    Mr. Gold said Israel could encounter a set of difficulties similar to those India faces in deterring terror attacks by Pakistan, also a nuclear power, if “terrorism is conducted by Iran under a nuclear umbrella.” The situation would prevent Israel’s “freedom of action to respond” to Iran, he says, if it were also a nuclear power.

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