“It’s about time,” Itamar Ben-Gvir was quoted as saying in response to the assassinations of the three Islamic Jihad leaders and at least 10 civilians, among them four women and four children. True to his word and satisfied he had gotten what he wanted, Ben-Gvir announced that his Otzma Yehudit party had decided to resume voting with the government “following the acceptance of our position and the transition from containment to attack in the targeted killings of senior Islamic Jihad figures.”

Ben-Gvir is a man of principles. But God forbid we should suspect the prime minister of ordering the assassinations to please Ben-Gvir and remove the threat of his quitting the coalition and bringing down the government. A coincidence, the hand of God, wonders and miracles, that is in truth what happened. The fact is that Netanyahu had not even invited Ben-Gvir to join the deliberations over the operation. Nor did he convene the cabinet – after all, there is no need for cabinet approval unless it is a military action whose........

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