Benjamin Netanyahu bet that his joint war alongside Donald Trump would topple Iran’s clerical rulers and reinforce his position ahead of his country’s elections as the architect of a US-Israel alliance that would reshape the Middle East.
Instead, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister has entered a collision course with Trump as the US president seeks to extricate himself from the war, with both their goals thwarted and Israeli military operations bogged down in Lebanon.
For now, Israeli officials have been cautious in public for fear of angering their most important ally, known for being sensitive to criticism.
But in private conversations, frustration is evident. The preliminary agreement is “terrible for Israel,” said a senior Israeli official, offering a frank assessment on condition of anonymity. “And there is no one in the Israeli leadership who sees the situation any other way, from the prime minister to the chief of staff.”
Washington says that over the next 60 days, while the ceasefire is in effect, it will negotiate full terms that should address U.S. and Israeli concerns, especially regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
But Israeli officials confided to Reuters the perception that the negotiation period envisaged in the agreement is likely to be prolonged, preventing Israel from taking military action while its concerns remain unresolved.
Netanyahu and Trump have repeatedly clashed over Israel’s refusal to curb its persecution of Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, where a cessation of hostilities is a key Iranian demand.
Earlier this month, Trump described Netanyahu as “completely crazy” in an angry phone call, ordering him not to attack Beirut as the US sought a deal with Iran.
Netanyahu called off the strikes that day but attacked the southern suburbs of Beirut a week later, prompting Iranian missile responses against Israel and a public rebuke from Trump on both sides.
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Hours before the US and Iran announced their interim agreement, Israel attacked the Lebanese capital again on Sunday after rockets were launched at Israel from Lebanon, an attack that Trump described as “small and insignificant”.
Netanyahu said Israel emerged “strong and firm,” with leadership that remains firm and wise. At a press conference in Jerusalem on Monday night, he acknowledged that he and Trump sometimes have their differences.
“He is the president of the United States, I am the prime minister of Israel. We often agree and there are times when we disagree. I am responsible for Israel’s security interests,” Netanyahu said.
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Faced with elections in which he does not face favorable projections, Netanyahu may be more willing to challenge Trump, as he faces an Israeli public opinion that, according to polls, has become skeptical about the US president’s commitment to Israel’s security.
“This is a pretty remarkable moment of divergence of interests,” said Dan Shapiro, former US ambassador to Israel during the Obama administration, now at the Atlantic Council think tank.
“He will try not to openly oppose (the deal) so as not to conflict with Trump,” Shapiro said. “But he will indicate that Israel is not bound by him and that Israel reserves the right to act.”
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