Netanyahu fails the 'no' test

 https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/04/19/netanyahu-fails-the-no-test/

The ceasefire imposed on Israel in Lebanon, following the ceasefire imposed on it in Iran, following the ceasefire imposed on it in Gaza, has left Israel in a troubling position in which it is once again failing to convert the many operational achievements of the IDF into a strategic outcome.

In fact, after 925 days of fighting since October 7, Israel has failed to achieve a decisive result on any front. Hamas remains standing and is engaged in rapid reconstruction. Hezbollah survived a severe campaign and hollow threats of destruction. Iran may emerge from the confrontation stronger than before. Israel did inflict heavy damage on all three, as well as on the Houthis in Yemen, but by the end of the campaign it is seen as a country whose affairs are decided not in Jerusalem, but in Washington.

In a speech he delivered in the Knesset while in opposition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that an Israeli prime minister is judged by one thing alone: his ability to say "no" to the president of the United States. In practice, against Donald Trump, Netanyahu failed. The US president's post on Friday, in which he said in large letters that he was forbidding Israel from attacking in Lebanon, was not only an operational directive. It was a public humiliation and a severe blow to Israeli power and deterrence.

Trump, it seems, is tired of wars. He is looking for a quick and elegant exit before being dragged back into them. In Iran, there is indeed a gap between his optimistic posts and the reality on the ground, in which the Strait of Hormuz was closed again, one day after reopening. But even Israeli officials involved in the talks believe that, at the moment, the space for agreement between the sides is greater than the space for disagreement.