On the evening of April 30, the Knesset approved a proposal authorizing the prime minister and defense minister to declare war in extreme circumstances. That same night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech revealing a secret operation to retrieve the Iranian nuclear archive. The proximity between the broadcast of the “Iranian lie” speech and the authorization of the law, combined with the heating up of the security situation near Israel’s northern border, have justly created a sense among the public that we’re on the brink of war.

The question of why it was urgent for Netanyahu to push forward right now a law that grants him great power and simultaneously weakens the diplomatic-security Cabinet in a consequential decision to declare war was not subject to an in-depth or serious public discussion. Naturally, it was overshadowed by the drama of the speech Netanyahu delivered.

On April 30, Netanyahu put heavy pressure on the coalition, with the help of Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked of HaBayit HaYehudi and Foreign Affairs and Security Committee Chairman Avi Dichter of Likud, to authorize the law that very night; the proposal had encountered some difficulties until that point. The buzz on social media was that Netanyahu is making these moves in order to distance himself from the criminal investigations — that is, political spin a la House of Cards.

The bill in question is actually an amendment to the Basic Law: It redefines the forum in which a decision to go to war can be made in Israel. Clause 40a of the law says the "state shall not start a war save by force of a government decision.” Likewise, the law says an announcement of a government decision to declare war is to be made to the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee and to the Knesset as soon as possible.