As the Houthis in Yemen continue to increase their launches of missiles at Israel, Israeli security officials are divided over how to address the issue, Ynet reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, Mossad chief David Barnea recommended a direct attack on Iran in order to deter the Houthis in Yemen, saying that an attack on “the head of the snake” would cause the Ayatollah regime to reconsider the effectiveness of arming the Houthis with missiles and ammunition.

Barnea believes that the “Trump effect” has deterred Iran and an Israeli strike would achieve double gains: bolster Israeli deterrence against Iran and deter the Houthis while sending a message to Tehran to halt arms shipments to Yemen. Additionally, he believes that the time is right for Israel to open a front against Iran due to the imminent term of President-elect Donald Trump.

The report notes that Defense Minister Yisrael Katz seemingly supports the IDF’s position in favor of a strike in Yemen without opening a front against Iran, mentioning Katz’s statements yesterday on Tuesday: “We will not accept the fact that the Houthis continue to fire on the State of Israel; we will deal with the Houthi leaders in Sanaa and everywhere in Yemen.”

It should be noted that Israel faces difficulties in striking high-value targets in Yemen. Despite repeated statements that the Houthi leadership in Yemen is in Israel’s crosshairs, Israeli intelligence agents have struggled to obtain intelligence information about targets in Yemen, partially due to their focus on threats that were more urgent such as Lebanon, Iran, Syria and Gaza.

What will Israel choose? Ynet military commentator Yossi Yehoshua wrote: “Throughout the war, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has almost always chosen the position of the Mossad over the IDF (at times where there was a dispute between them). These choices have proven themselves, as in the pager operation and the assassination of Nasrallah. It is likely that Netanyahu will also choose Barnea’s approach this time. In the meantime, nightly attacks from Yemen are expected to continue.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)