Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted one message about President Donald Trump on X on Sunday. And it had nothing to do with the emerging ceasefire deal with Iran or the ongoing conflict in Lebanon.
It was a happy birthday message to celebrate Trump’s 80th.
Since then, Netanyahu has not said anything publicly about the memorandum of understanding that others in his government have criticized as “bad for Israel and the entire free world” and “does not ensure our security.”
Netanyahu finds himself – once again – trapped between Trump on one side and his political base on the other. Trump has made clear that he sees the war with Iran as a thing of the past, and that includes the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Trump demanded that Israel stop attacking anywhere in Lebanon and said Hezbollah should stop attacking Israel. He dismissed Hezbollah projectiles that crossed into northern Israel on Sunday as “very small and meaningless.” As Netanyahu’s coalition demanded a harsh response to the Hezbollah fire, Trump told him to stand down.
Lebanon is almost certainly part of the US-Iran ceasefire deal, but without seeing the text, it’s impossible to know what’s expected of Israel, which is not a party to the agreement. Israel’s defense minister said on Monday that the Israeli military would not withdraw from the territory it occupies in southern Lebanon.
But Trump may have other plans. A war that started more than three months ago with the US and Israel together now looks very different, and it seems Trump is pursuing a deal that Netanyahu cannot publicly accept and will not openly reject.
