\n According to a preliminary survey conducted by Israel\u2019s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) this week, 81% of the Israeli public supports the Iran strikes, while 63% of those surveyed believe the campaign should continue until the Iranian regime falls. The logo of Israel\u2019s Channel 12 News, frequently critical of Netanyahu, added a slogan to its logo: \u201cTogether all the way.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Opposition leaders like former Prime Ministers Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett, adjusting to the public mood, are doing Netanyahu\u2019s international outreach for him. Lapid wrote in a column in \u201cThe Economist\u201d this week, \u201cOn this military campaign, I stand behind the government and behind the operation in Iran.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Netanyahu has for decades framed Iran as Israel\u2019s primary existential threat, shaping Israel\u2019s security policy, diplomatic efforts and public discourse around it.\n <\/p>\n
\n Since the October 7, 2023, attacks \u2013 the gravest security failure in Israel\u2019s history \u2013 cast a stain on Netanyahu\u2019s personal political brand as \u201cMr. Security,\u201d he has used military campaigns to try to rewrite his legacy. At the top of the list are the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June last year and the current operation. Sources close to Netanyahu say they are also one of the cornerstones of his reelection strategy.\n <\/p>\n
\n The political logic is direct: Battlefield achievements will allow him to campaign on a record of results and to reframe October 7 as the opening chapter of a broader national and regional transformation. Time and again, Netanyahu has recalled his vow on October 8 to restore Israel\u2019s deterrence and reshape the Middle East.\n <\/p>\n
\n Since then, Israel has killed almost all the leaders of what Netanyahu calls the \u201cAxis of Evil\u201d \u2013 from Hamas\u2019 Yahya Sinwar<\/a> and Ismail Haniyeh<\/a> to Hezbollah\u2019s Hassan Nasrallah<\/a> and now Khamenei.\n <\/p>\n \n Within hours of the opening strike on Iran on Saturday morning, the Prime Minister\u2019s Office branded the campaign \u201cOperation Roaring Lion.\u201d Political observers saw the explicit branding as a sign of Netanyahu\u2019s plan to capitalize on the wartime momentum at the ballot box and push for early elections to maximize the electoral dividends. (The vote is officially scheduled for late October but Netanyahu may decide to hold it sooner).\n <\/p>\n \n And if Netanyahu is directing the campaign, Trump is the star he wants to cast, according to the sources close to Netanyahu. The prime minister has thanked the U.S. president in nearly every statement since the operation began, praising the two nations\u2019 close cooperation in the military campaign. He already announced his intention to present him with the prestigious Israel Prize on the country\u2019s Independence Day next month. What\u2019s unclear is if Trump has any desire to attend.\n <\/p>\n \n But in sharp contrast to the war\u2019s popularity in Israel, the joint military endeavor is highly controversial in the United States. It may generate even more partisan polarization on Israel\u2019s standing, already suffering after two years of an internationally unpopular Gaza war.\n <\/p>\n![\"Israeli](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2025-12-29t211137z-1214655999-rc2kqia0rugd-rtrmadp-3-israel-palestinians-trump-netanyahu.JPG\")
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