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The Israeli newspaper Haaretz has reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is afraid of the Yemenis and would have avoided retaliation if he could, as he has done in the past.
In an article by economic analyst Nehemia Shtrasler titled “Bibi is also Afraid of the Houthis,” the newspaper recalled the moment when the Yemeni armed forces first entered the Battle of the Al-Aqsa Flood on October 19, 2023, by launching four cruise missiles and several drones at Eilat (Umm al-Rashrash).
The newspaper noted that the warship sent by U.S. President Joe Biden to the Red Sea did not cause any real harm to the Yemenis, leading the world to immediately understand that “Israel” is weak and vulnerable.
According to Shtrasler, Netanyahu’s fear and his reluctance to respond forcefully, leaving the matter to the Americans and the British to protect “Israel,” have turned “Israel” into “the punching bag of the Middle East,” surrounded by a ring of fire.
Shtrasler pointed out that the Yemenis recognized Netanyahu’s weakness, launching around 200 missiles and drones at “Israel” over the past nine months and attacking ships in the Red Sea to disrupt maritime traffic to the port of Eilat, successfully.
Shtrasler argued that the Yemeni attack on Tel Aviv was conclusive evidence that Netanyahu’s “cowardly containment policy” had failed with the Yemenis, just as it had with Hamas, Hezbollah, or Iran. He reminded that Netanyahu claimed Hamas was deterred before October 7, that Hezbollah had amassed 130,000 rockets, and that Netanyahu had failed in his primary mission against Iran to stop its nuclear program.
Shtrasler stressed that if Netanyahu could have avoided retaliation this time as well, he would have, but the attack this time was on the economic-financial-technological center of “Israel.” Despite being cowardly and weak, Netanyahu realized that if he did not respond, the attacks would continue, paralyzing Tel Aviv and causing a massive economic crisis and severe unemployment, which would endanger Netanyahu’s position.
The newspaper highlighted Netanyahu’s perpetual claim of being the “strong man,” contrasting his rhetoric with his performance on the ground. It recalled his criticism of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid during their tenures for their weakness against Iran, and his recent statement that “in the Middle East, they respect the strong and determined, not the weak and feeble.”
Haaretz asserted that Netanyahu is not the strongest and most determined, but the weakest and most feeble, noting that Hamas attacked “Israel” on October 7 because Yahya Sinwar long understood there was no connection between Netanyahu’s rhetorical threats and his actions on the ground.
Regarding the Israeli aggression on the port of Hodeidah, the newspaper confirmed that a debate had arisen about maintaining ambiguity or openly claiming responsibility for the attack, with Netanyahu deciding in favor of extensive public disclosure for personal reasons, as restoring the image of the “strong man” was important to him after it collapsed on October 7.
The newspaper concluded that the “strong man” sought by the Israeli voter would have attacked Yemen as early as October 19, or shortly thereafter, when the Yemenis bombarded “Israel” with 200 missiles and drones. “Because he did not, the attack on Tel Aviv occurred, proving once again that Netanyahu is the most contemptible man in Israeli history, weak, indecisive, and cowardly as well.”
The Yemeni drone “Yafa” had breached the airspace of occupied Palestine from the sea on Friday, crashing on Shalom Aleichem Street in Tel Aviv, causing significant damage after colliding with a building, with the occupation admitting one fatality.
The explosion occurred on one of Tel Aviv’s busiest streets in a security area filled with towers, embassies, and additional air defenses, particularly the U.S. consulate located a few dozen meters from the blast site.
Following this, Israeli warplanes carried out hostile airstrikes on Saturday, targeting oil storage facilities in the port of Hodeidah, western Yemen, an attack claimed by the spokesperson of the occupation “army.” The Yemeni Ministry of Health confirmed that the attack resulted in six martyrs and more than 80 wounded.
On Sunday, Ansar Allah movement leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi stated that “the Zionist enemy chose its targets in Hodeidah to undermine the Yemeni economy” and that “it had another objective, which was to showcase the scenes of fire and smoke to portray its strike as a significant achievement.” He explained that “the enemy wants the fire scenes to show its angry and scared audience that it has achieved a major success and delivered a painful blow to Yemen.”
Despite the Israeli aggression, al-Houthi affirmed that “the enemy is no longer safe in what is called Tel Aviv, which poses a real problem for the enemy and marks a new phase that will continue, God willing, demonstrating the failure of the protectors and agents,” according to Al Mayadeen.
Source: Raialyoum
