{"id":381737,"date":"2026-04-08T17:31:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T17:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/381737\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T17:31:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T17:31:12","slug":"is-israel-already-sabotaging-a-chance-for-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/381737\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Israel already sabotaging a chance for peace?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just when a fragile glimmer of hope emerged in the Middle East<\/a>, Israel<\/a> has moved to extinguish it. By launching its largest wave of strikes<\/a> in years against Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon \u2014 all Hezbollah\u2019s strongholds \u2014 the Israeli government is undermining the Pakistan-brokered agreement<\/a> between the U.S. and Iran<\/a> that could pave the diplomatic path to end the war.<\/p>\n

On April 7, President Donald Trump <\/a>accepted<\/a> Iran\u2019s 10-point plan<\/a> as a \u201cworkable\u201d basis for negotiations with Tehran. The decision, which came shortly before his deadline for Iran to surrender or be destroyed as \u201ca civilization,\u201d<\/a> reflects his desire to exit a war he started despite the reticence of his own army and intelligence.<\/p>\n

Reading Trump\u2019s self-inflicted conundrum correctly, Tehran has presented a wide-ranging list of demands, which included a comprehensive ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon. Iran is driving a hard bargain not just because of its ideological commitment to the \u201cAxis of Resistance,\u201d but for two strategic reasons. <\/p>\n

First, Israel has made a habit of violating ceasefires in both Gaza and Lebanon, with America\u2019s complicity. Understandably, Iran wants guarantees that this will no longer be the case; otherwise it would likely be drawn into a direct conflict with Israel again.<\/p>\n

Second, during the latest round of escalation, Hezbollah has proved to be a useful asset for Iran, attacking Israel from the north using capabilities that have proven to be far less degraded than the Israeli government claimed. In case there is no diplomatic agreement with Washington and the total war in the region restarts, Tehran wants to be able to count on Hezbollah as a capable asset on its side.<\/p>\n

While Trump clearly referenced Iran\u2019s plan, including the point on Lebanon\/Israel, as a framework for negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the two week truce agreed by Washington and Tehran does not include Lebanon<\/a>. (The White House added<\/a> to the confusion Wednesday, saying that Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire.) For Netanyahu, this means, in effect, that Israel will take America\u2019s diplomatic cover while reserving the right to escalate wherever it chooses.<\/p>\n

And indeed, the morning after Trump\u2019s announcement of a pause, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a new \u201cEternal Darkness\u201d operation that killed hundreds<\/a> in Lebanon. Iran responded<\/a> that it will retaliate and withdraw from the truce if Israel doesn\u2019t cease the strikes, putting pressure on Washington to rein in its junior partner.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu\u2019s true strategic aims remain unclear. He may well be taking his frustration out on Lebanon as a \u201cconsolation prize\u201d for being left out of the U.S.-Iran diplomatic track. But can the operation succeed? While there is no doubt about the IDF\u2019s operational prowess and Israel\u2019s intelligence capabilities, continued bombings and assassinations of Hezbollah\u2019s leaders have failed to defang the Lebanese group, and they now risk sabotaging the potential regional ceasefire.<\/p>\n

This brings us to the conclusion that, for Netanyahu and his coalition, the forever war and escalation are in themselves the strategy. The longer the fighting goes on, the less likely he\u2019ll be held accountable for his catastrophic miscalculations in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.<\/p>\n

Yair Golan, a former IDF deputy chief of staff, put it<\/a> sharply in a Wednesday post on X: \u201cNetanyahu promised a \u2018historic victory\u2019 and security for generations. In practice, Israel has suffered one of the most severe strategic failures it has ever known…An entire country in shelters. The IDF did its part with force and achieved results on the ground\u2014but the Netanyahu-Smotrich-Ben Gvir government failed catastrophically in translating tactical gains into strategic victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Golan further notes<\/a> that none of the core goals were achieved: \u201cThe Iranian nuclear program was not destroyed. The ballistic missile threat remains. The regime in Tehran is not only still in place\u2014it emerges from this war stronger than before. Iran holds enriched uranium, controls the Strait of Hormuz, and dictates the terms of engagement. And Israel, once again like in Gaza, is not in the room. Not deciding. Not influencing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Golan\u2019s diagnosis is brutal and precise. This is not a \u201chistoric victory.\u201d This is a total failure that endangers Israel\u2019s security for years to come.<\/p>\n

Worse, Netanyahu has jeopardized, perhaps fatally, Israel\u2019s main asset: its alliance with the United States. New polling data<\/a> should serve as an alarm bell for anyone in Washington still willing to condone Netanyahu\u2019s escalations. Sixty percent of American adults now hold an unfavorable view of Israel \u2014 up from 53% last year and 42% in 2022. Even more striking is that, in both political parties, a majority of adults under age 50 view Israel negatively: 84% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans. America\u2019s appetite for Middle Eastern wars has never been lower. The bipartisan consensus that once shielded Israeli governments from accountability is crumbling before our eyes.<\/p>\n

These trends bode ill for Israel\u2019s security in the long term. Even when the current war ends, it will have engendered a conviction in Tehran that the nuclear bomb is the ultimate deterrent against the future attacks \u2014 a determination Iran\u2019s rulers had not yet made before the war. And Israel\u2019s mindless provocations of Turkey<\/a>, increasingly framed as \u201cthe new Iran,\u201d might well push Ankara down the same path too. The nightmare scenario for Israel \u2014 facing an emboldened Iran and Turkey while America finally retreats from the Middle East \u2014 no longer looks too far-fetched in the long run.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration\u2019s apparent acceptance of Iran\u2019s ten points as a basis for negotiations provides a chance to end the wars in the Middle East. For those talks to succeed, Washington is now bound to enforce a full ceasefire \u2014 and ensure that Israel does so as well. If the administration does not forcefully insist that the ceasefire applies to Lebanon as well, it will have surrendered this chance to Netanyahu\u2019s political survival priorities. And it will do so against the backdrop of a rapidly shifting American public that no longer sees Israel as a victim, but instead as a driver of endless, unwinnable wars.<\/p>\n

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