Nine Israeli MPs Vow Unconditional Support for Attacking Iran

Likud Members Have 'Complete Faith' in Netanyahu's Decision to Attack

by Jason Ditz, September 03, 2012

Nine members of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, have signed a letter today promising total and unwavering support for any war against Iran, saying they have “complete faith” in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision on the matter.

Other than himself and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Netanyahu has struggled to find any backers for the war, which will reportedly be launched in the next two months. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman later expressed support for the war, but complained he would have rather seen it done a decade ago.

Conspicuously, the new letter doesn’t include any members of Netanyahu’s cabinet either, suggesting that while he is able to muster at least some support from backbenchers in his own party, he isn’t necessarily able to put together much support among his own coalition’s leadership.

Which may not matter, as both Netanyahu and Barak have repeatedly claimed that they alone have the right to decide on whether or not to start the war, while lashing the media for reporting polls showing strong opposition to the war and military leaders cautioning the attack would be a disaster, accusing them of “undermining” the war effort.

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