On the day Tehran decides to attack Israel, Israel will find herself in an existential war. Thousands of missiles will rain down on central population centers; including Tel Aviv, Be’er Sheva and Jerusalem. This is the scenario that former IDF Ombudsman, Major-General (reserves) Yitzchak Brick envisions.

It has been almost a year since Brick warned that if Israel goes to war, the outcome of the Yom Kippur War will look like “a walk in the park“.

Now, after Israel attacked Iranian positions in Syria, Brick told Kippa News that the State of Israel faces an existential threat, one involving thousands of missiles, not just in the north; but in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Be’er Sheva. This is what will occur according to Brick on the day Iran decides to attack Israel.

What do you believe will prompt Iran to attack?
We are talking about a process that has been building over years by the Iranians and partners; Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and others. At the time there will be a general outbreak, some 2,000 missiles will be fired at Israel, aimed at the center of population centers in the State of Israel. We are speaking about Gush Dan, the Haifa Gulf, Be’er Sheva and Jerusalem.

Your statements are quite serious. I do not believe the Israeli public really understands the picture.
There is a well-oiled system in place making sure this message does not reach the Israeli public, which remains complacent. By the way, there is no argument regarding the situation that I am describing. The public simply doesn’t get it.

Brick claims that the current political reality in Israel severely harms the security establishment despite the fact they try to paint a different picture. The plan of IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-General Aviv Kochavi is stuck because of the political situation.

“Kochavi understands the problem. It is not what it was in the past. They know a problem exists. Kochavi himself explains ‘black clouds are penetrating the skies of Israel’. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu also says, ‘we are facing an existential threat which is far more serious than the Yom Kippur War’.

“They all understand when the big blast occurs there will not be an answer. We must immediately advance a plan. I think that what will occur will be even more serious that the [outcome of the] Yom Kippur War. The difference is that in all wars in Israel, we fought on the front, but the coming war will be the homefront. There will be complete erosion of the population centers, loss of the skies. The economic devastation will be huge. We are the most threatened country in the world today.

“Brick sharpens the differences and emphasizes that during the Yom Kippur War they talked about the conquest of the State of Israel, whereas today, the existential threat is quite different. It is not like that are coming with tanks to conquer the State of Israel. This is an existential threat involving the firing of missiles over our [population] centers that will cause us not to recover for years following the destruction. This is a total impairment in the ability to live here. We will not want to live here. No one will want to immigrate here. It will damage the infrastructure, that will take decades to restore. We have no guarantee that after that it will not move on.”

What can be done today?
First of all, we can say what should have been done. We have been between wars for ten years. We were busy constantly stopping rockets from Gaza. We bombed Iraq and Syria. We did not find time to engage in the big war. The homefront was not taken into account in the IDF’s plan. It is simply a scandal. We had to sit on the shed and think what weapons could be effective against these missiles, because we understand that the Israel Air Force will to be able to stop them. What we needed for example, is the matter of the laser cannon. You have to understand that a missile laser shot at a missile is a beam that costs $2,000 while an Arrow missile costs $3 million. The United States wanted to continue developing but decided to give it up. Now, everyone wants it, but we’ve been delayed for ten years. We are not ready today. This is just one example. There is much more.

Major-General Brick claims the State of Israel was too busy with what is called ‘the war between the wars’ and not the primary threat. According to Brick, everyone today thinks there will be no more major wars. “Since the peace with Egypt, Jordan, it appears there will be no more big wars. At the time, they did not notice that a phenomenon was developing that was simply devastating for us,” Brick adds.

Does anyone in the defense establishment hear what you are saying?
They all hear me. They all agree with me as well, but no one will tell you this. The Prime Minister says it too, that it is an existential threat. Today, there is no argument on this.

They all think it is a political trick by Netanyahu.
This is no political trick. This is no spin. This is so real. The Chief of Staff also says it. The public must cease being complacent for it is sailing on the Titanic, happy, and heading for an iceberg. The Iron Dome is a bandage that cannot handle the large missiles. The Arrow, which costs so much money, will possibly protest some strategic venues. The Iranian missiles do not have to be accurate to fall on Gush Dan. Think of a missile weighing 700kg (1,543 pounds) falling in Tel Aviv – it does not have to be accurate. Today, the Iranians have thousands of such missiles.

In a directly related matter, at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu included the following statements in his opening remarks.

“Yesterday, the commander of US Central Command, which is responsible for US forces in the Middle East, General Kenneth F. McKenzie, said that Iran is planning another attack. This is true, additional attacks. However, Iran is not only attacking its neighbors and us, Iran is also attacking its citizens. In recent weeks, they have slaughtered hundreds of Iranian citizens. This is a tyrannical regime par excellence, the image and true face of which is now being exposed to the entire world. This is the largest terrorist regime in the world, regarding its own citizens as well.

“Therefore, I call on all countries around the world that want to achieve peace and stability in our region, and throughout the world in general, to join in the effort and apply more and more pressure on Iran, and, additionally, to support Israel as it takes action against this aggression. We have taken action and we will continue to do so.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)