Israeli attacks and raids show that Netanyahu is an unreliable American partner

• Israel launched a “limited” ground offensive in Lebanon after killing a top Hezbollah leader in airstrikes.
• The attacks came just days after the US called for a 21-day ceasefire on September 25.
• Foreign policy experts said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cannot be restricted by the US.

The Israeli military confirmed in a statement that it began a “limited, localized and targeted” ground offensive in Lebanon early Tuesday local time, targeting the Iranian-backed militant organization Hezbollah, after back-and-forth exchanges. with the group for almost a year.

The ground offensive came after a series of airstrikes on September 27 that killed Hezbollah’s longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah, a major victory for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

However, that Israel carried out the operations just days after the US called for a 21-day ceasefire on September 25 only reinforces that Israel has its own interests, and a now emboldened Netanyahu will not be easily can be kept under control. , which has so far failed to de-escalate the situation since the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack, foreign policy experts told Business Insider.

The US, a key Israeli ally and mediator in peace talks, has so far failed to broker a ceasefire, negotiate the release of hostages held by Hamas, or reign in the civilian deaths in Israel’s struggle in Gaza.

And despite increased international pressure for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah after a series of deadly pager explosions in Lebanon earlier this month, Israel launched airstrikes and, now, what it calls a “limited” ground invasion.

Chuck Freilich, a former deputy national security adviser who served for more than two decades in Israel’s security establishment, told BI that while Nasrallah’s death was seen as a major achievement for Israel and the US, the strike “also reinforces long-standing resentment for Netanyahu strengthens. and the belief that he is not a reliable partner for the US.”

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Freilich, currently a professor of political science at Columbia University, noted that relations between Israel and the US have been tense before — recalling a 2014 incident in which an official from then-President Barack Obama’s administration called Netanyahu a “son of a bitch” .

Benjamin Radd, a research fellow at the UCLA Center for Middle East Development, told BI that President Joe Biden’s lame-duck status could influence Netanyahu’s decision-making.

“I think we have a situation where the Israeli prime minister finds a window to operate, where internationally – or at least here in the US – there seems to be number one, distraction, and number two, a candidate whose positions on Israel’s foreign policy decisions could be more favorable to the prime minister,” Radd said, referring to a possible Donald Trump victory in the upcoming election.

Netanyahu, Radd said, appears to be taking his chance on escalation in a way he wouldn’t necessarily do if Biden wasn’t on his way out of office.

Sean McFate, a national security and foreign policy expert at Syracuse University, told BI that the airstrike is a “major escalation” in the conflict and that Israel is not a “finger puppet” for the US that will easily give in demands from outside.

“I think it’s hubris to think that America can just toe the line, and Bibi will do what we want,” McFate said of Netanyahu, using his nickname. Israel won a major victory by eliminating Nasrallah, McFate said — a move that Biden recognized in the same statement as a “benchmark of justice.” in which he called for diplomacy in Gaza and Lebanon.

He added that the prime minister could also view the US as an unreliable partner.

In May, Reuters reported that the Biden administration had halted an arms shipment to Israel to counter an apparent attempt to launch an offensive against Rafah in southern Gaza.

“We have been promised weapons, but we are not delivering them on time,” McFate said of Netanyahu’s possible thinking. Israel ultimately went ahead with its military plans in Rafah.

The assassination of a top Hezbollah leader and subsequent ground invasion complicate the already murky path to de-escalation.

Netanyahu, who finds himself in a politically charged position as he faces corruption charges (he denies wrongdoing) and has not yet secured the remaining hostages that Hamas has held since October last year, could now be even more emboldened, McFate said.

“The question is: what happens next? Is Israel escalating? Is Hezbollah escalating? Is Iran escalating?” McFate added. “We are in the most volatile moment since October 7.”

Representatives from the Foreign Ministry and the Israeli Prime Minister’s office did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.