NETANYAHU: THE MAN AND HIS MISSION

With the world waiting for Israel's response to attacks from Iran and its proxies, it's essential to understand the anxieties and convictions that drive its leader, Bibi Netanyahu

- PINAK RANJAN CHAKRAVARTY

THE world is transfixed on Israel's response to Iran's missile attacks and the drone found near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home in Caesarea. So, all eyes are riveted on Netanyahu, the longest-serving prime minister of Israel who is popularly known by his nickname Bibi. To understand the evolution of the 75-year-old leader, now in his sixth term, it might be instructive to first see how he has reacted to the exhortations of his country's closest ally, the US. US President Joe Biden and Bibi recently had a telephonic discussion after almost 2 months. The Americans are trying to dissuade him from escalating, using American arms supply as a stick and the carrot of deploying the potent anti-missile defence system, Thaad. The US has also extracted a promise of allowing more humanitarian aid into Gaza. While condemning Iran's attack, Biden has said that any Israeli response should be "proportional" and not include Iran's nuclear and oil installations.

But Bibi is not someone who will readily bow to American demands and knows that American public opinion will not accept any outright decision to stop military aid, without which Israel's capacity to carry on the conflict would be severely curtailed. So, the objectives of the US and Israel in the region have become more and more divergent. Bibi allegedly did not share any information with the Americans on the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Biden, who believes that Bibi's decisions are designed to electorally help Donald Trump, cannot take any drastic action before the presidential elections on November 5. So, Biden is caught between supporting Israel's right to defend itself and calling for "diplomatic arrangement" to enable displaced Israelis and Lebanese to return home and for the violence in Gaza to end.