Operation Opera impossible for the Iraqis to take the necessary steps without being discovered. In Israel, discussions on which strategy to adopt in response to the Iraqi reactor development were taking place as early as [[Yitzhak Rabin|Yitzhak Rabin's]] [[Seventeenth government of Israel|first term in office]] (1974–1977). Reportedly, planning and training for the operation began during this time. After [[Menachem Begin]] became Prime Minister in 1977 the preparations intensified; Begin authorized the building of a full-scale model of the Iraqi reactor which Israeli pilots could practice bombing. Three Israeli pilots died in accidents while training for the mission. Israel's Foreign Minister [[Moshe Dayan]]
Yitzhak Rabin the Sabbath on an Israeli Air Force base when four F-15 jets were delivered from the US and the National Religious Party had abstained. Rabin dissolved his government and decided on new elections, which were to be held in May 1977. Following the March 1977 meeting between Rabin and U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Rabin publicly announced that the U.S. supported the Israeli idea of defensible borders; Carter then issued a clarification. A "fallout" in U.S./Israeli relations ensued. It is thought that the fallout contributed to the Israeli Labor Party's defeat in the May 1977 elections. On 15 March 1977, "Haaretz"