Israel must target the real root of the problem - Iran
Opinion: Why should Israelis sit in bomb shelters because of rockets fired by Iranian proxies in Gaza or Lebanon? We should be taking the fight to the real instigators in Tehran
The Iranians will fight to the last jihadist, the last Hamas man, and the last Hezbollah fighter standing.
Only this week we had another example of this in the form of anti-tank missiles fired by Hezbollah in Lebanon at IDF troops. But when it comes to the Iranians themselves, it’s a whole different story; about themselves they care a great deal.
The Iranians are behind the recent attacks on Israel from Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, and since the attacks themselves didn’t come from Iranian territory, we're happy enough to punish the messengers - in other words, we return fire only to where we were attacked from.
This needs to change. Why should the people of Israel come under fire from attacks that were originated in and funded by Iran, while the Iranians themselves sit protected and safe in their country?
Israel is a sophisticated country; we can arrange attacks on Iranian soil from elsewhere as well. Iran doesn’t care if it is Gaza civilians or Hezbollah fighters who are killed by Israeli fire. They don't care about civilians, Iran's okay if it's Gazans who pay the price, but when it comes to them and their people it’s a different story.
But Iran needs to know, if it sponsors attacks on Israel, its people won't be safe either. If they don’t fire at us from Iran, we won't fire at them from Israel.
Why should IDF troops be threatened on its Lebanon and Gaza borders, while Iran's soldiers are safe in their country? And if a citizen who lives in Sderot has to sit in a bomb shelter, why should an Iranian citizen sit safely in his home?
If Tel Aviv or Haifa are threatened, why should people walk freely in Tehran? There's no shortage of Sunni militias that are at odds with Iran - you orchestrate attacks on us, we orchestrate attacks on you, simple and symmetrical.
Israel's response to rocket fire from Gaza is weak, and is explained away with the excuse of the threat on the northern front.
But both the southern and northern threats are essentially facing Iranian threats, and so an attack on the source of this evil would be far more efficient. Iranians would not be able to accept attacks on their country just as we should not have to accept attacks on ours. No country in the world would agree to this situation.
Those who are responsible, those who pulled the trigger and those who sent them should pay. Hamas positions in Gaza shouldn’t be our only targets, just as an attack on a Syrian village shouldn't be the only location where we retaliate for a drone strike on Israeli territory. Lebanon alone should not have to pay the price for Hezbollah aggression.
For more than 1,300 years there's been a feud between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims. The predominantly Shi'ite Iranians hate the Sunnis - including the predominantly Sunni Saudis - much more then they hate us.
The Persians are an ancient and wise people with history and culture and their idiotic policy regarding Israel is a surprising one.
You spend your money in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria all the while struggling under harsh sanctions when you could have lived in wealth and dignity.
You understand history - no one has ever gained a single thing by messing with the Jews.
