According to the report, Halevy based his assumption on Israel’s aversion of winter battles, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fears of dwindling support should US President Barack Obama be elected for a second term and the fact that should GOP candidate Mitt Romney be elected president, he is likely to shy away from starting his term in office with a war.
The report further quoted US officials as saying that “Israeli officials are less confrontational in private… PM Netanyahu understands the consequences of military action for Israel, the United States and the region.”
“The more the Israelis threaten, the more we respond by showing them that we will take care of the problem if it comes to that,” Martin Indyk, a former American ambassador to Israel and director of foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, said.
