President Donald Trump’s heavy pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hasn’t gone over well in some sectors of Israeli society, with some Israeli officials starting to speak out against the president.
After Trump got Netanyahu to call off renewed attacks against Beirut, the right wing of Netanyahu’s coalition voiced their collective outrage, accusing Trump of interfering in Israeli affairs. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir went a step further, publicly calling on Netanyahu to ignore Trump on Lebanon.
“Mr. Prime Minister, you said that a strong prime minister tells the President of the United States—’yes’ when possible, and ‘no’—when necessary. This is the time to tell our friend, President Trump—’no,’” he said in a post on X.
“Now is the time to do what is required and necessary to strike Hezbollah, to unleash the hands of our fighters, and to restore security to the north,” he added.
Ben-Gvir was the highest-ranking official to voice his anger and the only of Netanyahu’s government. Other hard-line ministers, such as Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, remained mum.
While Israel is politically fractured in many respects, the whole political spectrum is largely united around a desire to crush Iran and Hezbollah. Hezbollah is particularly seen as an existential threat to Israel, and the current moment is seen as the best chance so far to eliminate the group.
In a Monday post on Truth Social, Trump announced that he had conversations with both Netanyahu and Hezbollah through intermediaries and that both had pledged not to attack the other if their opponent didn’t. Netanyahu quickly released a statement clarifying that operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon would continue unabated, and Israel reserved the right to attack Beirut if the terrorist group continued to attack Israel proper.
A ceasefire has been in place in Lebanon since last month, brokered between representatives from Israel and the Lebanese government, but Hezbollah quickly disregarded it. Fighting has continued unabated since, though Israel has held back from excessive attacks on areas outside of southern Lebanon to avoid angering Washington. This hesitance has led to anger among Israel’s right wing, who believe Netanyahu is being hamstrung by Trump.
NETANYAHU SAYS ISRAELI FORCES TO CONTINUE LEBANON OPERATIONS DESPITE TRUMP ANNOUNCEMENT
A Monday call between Trump and Netanyahu was reportedly hostile, coming after Iran said it would pull out of negotiations until Israel stopped operations in Lebanon.
“You’re f***ing crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your a**. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this,” Trump reportedly told Netanyahu, according to sources speaking with Axios. At one point, he added, “What the f*** are you doing?”
