'Israel's security chiefs rejected orders to prepare for Iran strike in 2010'

Two years ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak gave orders for the Israel Defense Forces to prepare for striking Iran's nuclear facilities. The IDF and the head of the Mossad at the time were certain that Netanyahu and Barak were trying to "steal a war" – and the order was not fully carried out.

An investigation by the Channel 2 program "Uvda" (Fact), to be broadcast on Monday, reveals that former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and former Mossad Chief Meir Dagan, were against the move.

At the end of a meeting of the forum of seven senior government ministers in 2010, which Ashkenazi and Dagan attended, Netanyahu gave an order to raise the level of preparation of Israel's security apparatus to "P Plus" – a code that signifies getting ready for a military strike.

According to the "Uvda" investigation, Dagan came out sharply against the move in the 2010 meeting, telling Netanyahu and Barak: "You are likely to make an illegal decision to go to war. Only the cabinet is authorized to decide this." Meanwhile, associates of Ashkenazi explain that the former IDF chief was concerned that raising the alert level would "create new facts on the ground," leading to a war.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-s-security-chiefs-rejected-orders-to-prepare-for-iran-strike-in-2010.premium-1.475102

apparently not too much has changed since then