Leader of Israel's opposition, Benjamin Netanyahu, slammed the incumbent government for the so-called "no surprises policy" with the United States, lamenting it would potentially thwart Israel's attacks against its rival Iran, Israeli media reported on Monday.
"The information that is sent to America could be leaked to major media outlets and in this way our operations will be thwarted," Netanyahu said as quoted by The Times of Israel. "That is why for the last decade I have refused the requests of American presidents to always inform them of our actions."
He reportedly added that "this is an existential issue for Israel, in which there may be surprises and sometimes surprises are needed."
He also said that the government of Naftali Bennett has "turned us into some sort of protectorate with a duty to report. If we have no independence on this matter, we have no independence at all."
This comes as top US and Israeli officials held discussions on regional security, in which they mentioned the "Iran-threat" in the wake of the recent attack against the Mercer Street vessel. The Israeli government quickly accused Tehran of being behind the attack, with Western allies echoing the allegations and vowing a harsh response to Iran. Tehran has denied any involvement in the incident.
The "no surprises" approach in bilateral relations implies that Israel would inform the US in advance regarding any IDF operations against the Islamic Republic. Netanyahu previously lambasted this policy as a threat to Israel's security that ruins its freedom of action against Tehran's nuclear program.
The Israeli government, particularly while Netanyahu was prime minister, has long been sounding the alarm about Iran allegedly working to develop a nuke. This led to the belief that Israel was behind the recent attacks against Iran, including the assassination of its top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh and a "sabotage" incident at the Natanz plant, all allegedly aimed at undermining Iran's nuclear capabilities.