Israel has one condition of survival: the ability to fight, to continue, and to prevail on its own. Not with the help of others. Not in dependency. Any departure from this condition is not an advantage. It is a danger.

The danger greater than Iran itself is the moment Israel loses the ability to determine for itself when to stop, how much force to apply, and what the end state will be. Security does not rest on the goodwill of a foreign president, on a foreign electoral cycle, on fuel prices, or on an ally’s willingness to extend a war. When production, stockpiles, the timing of a halt, and the definition of the end state depend on an external actor, independence ceases to be a fact. It becomes an illusion.

The ceasefire announced this week did not reflect maturity. It reflected subordination. The President of the United States halted the bombing for two weeks not because Israel had completed its objectives, but subject to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. This is the decisive point: Washington acted according to Hormuz, the markets, and energy, not according to the end state required by Israel against Iran. The arrangement was American. Israel did not shape it. It was subordinated to it. The ceasefire did not close the gap between military effort and political outcome. It exposed who determined the outcome.

The fire was not halted because the war had ended. It was halted because authorization to continue had ended.

At that point, it became clear........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)