JUST POLITICS, JAKE:

Perhaps, according to the former commander of Israel's southern front, Yoav Galant, timing was dictated by the Israeli election cycle. As the number two man in the rising Kulanu party, it might be prudent simply to chalk up this claim to his need to challenge Prime Minister Netanyahu's motivations.

And perhaps that is all it is. Although Galant has since retracted his accusation, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz has examined the record of especially audacious military initiatives in Israel's history with an eye on the political calendar. What the reporter discovered was that the June 1981 strike against the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak; the 1996 invasion of Lebanon; the 2009 invasion of Gaza; and the 2012 Gaza war were all launched when the incumbent prime minister faced a close election, or there was a political reputation at stake. There's an organic link between domestic politics and foreign policy in virtually all countries, so this wouldn't necessarily be a huge surprise.

With less than two months to election day, polls now show a slightly leftward tilt away from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

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