Wilfried Devillers, special correspondent in Tel Aviv (Israel) / Photo credit: AMIR LEVY / GETTY IMAGES EUROPE / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP
While the eyes of the whole world are on Israel, which has yet to communicate on the planned response against Tehran after Iran’s attack on the Jewish state, the Israeli population is mixed. Some fear the triggering of an escalation while others refuse to adopt a position of weakness.
The question of an Israeli response still arises, two days after the drone and missile attack perpetrated by Iran towards the Jewish state. The Israeli war cabinet is due to meet again this Monday, the Israeli Prime Minister said. The alert remains at a very high level after these strikes which deeply marked people’s minds, even if, apart from an injured 7-year-old girl, no casualties have been reported.
The population, divided on the question of a possible response, is all the more shocked as this direct attack by Tehran on Israeli soil constitutes a first. “For me, it was new. It’s not the same thing as what happened in Gaza. There, it’s Iran, we know that they have more missiles and a more great strike force. That’s what scares us”, expresses Sarah, Franco-Israeli. But the young woman is not in favor of a response for the moment. “I think it could quickly lead to an escalation with other countries, it could quickly flare up and drag us into a regional or even global conflict.”
“We cannot show weakness”
This is also what fears another Israeli who hopes that Jerusalem will procrastinate for the moment, at least during the Jewish Passover holidays next week. On the other hand, his friend Emilie believes that a counterattack is necessary. “We cannot show weakness in the face of these countries that want us dead. We are obliged to have appropriate military responses and we are obliged to respond because we want peace, but not them . So, what do we do?” she asks.
Still, the fear of a regional conflagration and open war against Iran is on everyone’s mind. For the moment, the government has not yet communicated on the planned response against Tehran.