Netanyahu may drag Israel into a war that is not its own
Nachman Shai warns that Netanyahu's proposal to provide military assistance to Saudi Arabia against the Houthis could drag Israel into a war that is not its own, deviating from traditional self-defense policy. Shai cites the 1956 Suez Crisis as a historical example of the danger of fighting for foreign interests, and notes that Saudi Arabia has not publicly responded to the Israeli offer.
Nachman Shai, a former Israeli minister, warns in an opinion piece in Maariv that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may drag Israel into a war that is not its own, as part of an attempt to advance normalization with Saudi Arabia. Shai argues that Netanyahu's proposal to provide military assistance to Saudi Arabia against the Houthi rebels in Yemen deviates from Israel's traditional self-defense policy. He cites the 1956 Suez Crisis as a historical example where Israel fought for British and French interests and ultimately withdrew in embarrassment. Shai notes that Saudi Arabia has not publicly responded to Netanyahu's proposal, and raises suspicion that the Saudis are using Israel as a bargaining chip against the US to obtain advanced weapons and forgiveness for the murder of journalist Khashoggi. The article concludes with a call for Netanyahu to listen to past Likud leaders Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir, who said that when Arab countries fight each other, Israel has no business there.