In New York Times interview, former PM hints at another run for leadership, suggesting Netanyahu is all talk without direct action against the Iranian regime, the “head of the octopus”

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, in an interview with the New York Times, criticized Israel’s current strategy of focusing on Iran’s proxies rather than addressing the primary threat, Tehran itself. Bennett, known for his analogy of Iran as an octopus—where Tehran is the head and its proxies the tentacles—stressed that “the head of the octopus is much weaker, much more vulnerable and feeble, than its arms.”

Bennett questioned Israel’s approach, asking, “So how foolish are we to engage in war with the arms when we could engage with the head?”

Warning of the dangers posed by Iran, Bennett pointed out that Tehran has established “an empire of rockets and terror” encircling Israel. He asserted that the only viable solution to eliminate the existential threat to Israel is to “topple the Iranian regime before it fully acquires a nuclear weapon.”

Bennett further criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strategy during the ongoing conflict with Hamas, stating that the promised “total victory” diverges from the situation on the ground. He observed, “I see words that send one message and actions that are the contrary.”

Noting that Israel estimates over 15,000 Hamas combatants have been killed, Bennett highlighted a crucial flaw in the strategic logic: “When you count bodies, you are assuming a finite number of combatants, but you have a population of one million to draw on. They could have recruited another 10,000 in the meantime.”