Trump may survive the humiliation of the Iran deal. Netanyahu will not

[Ponietz]

Benjamin Netanyahu, the biggest loser in last week’s preliminary deal to halt the US-Israel-Iran war, will be remembered – and reviled – as the man who put the Middle East to the sword. Whether the “problem” was Hamas in Gaza, illegal West Bank land seizures, supposed Israeli-Arab fifth columnists, peace campaigners’ aid flotillas, Hezbollah in Lebanon, hostile militias in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, or Tehran’s hardline Islamic regime, the Israeli leader’s “solution” was always the same: extreme, often lawless violence that invariably made matters worse.

The unprovoked, illegal war against Iran was the ultimate expression of the Netanyahu doctrine – the disproportionate application of brute force. Predictably, it too, has failed. Donald Trump is desperately arguing that the ceasefire memorandum he signed in Versailles (of all places!) is not the lame capitulation it so self-evidently is. But while the US president may survive this humiliation – despite global scepticism and mockery – the likely consequences of the debacle for Netanyahu, his brother-in-harms, are career-ending serious. In many respects, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister is already yesterday’s man.

……

The consensus began to fall apart in 2015 when Netanyahu and pro-Israel organisations in the US mounted a huge campaign to derail Barack Obama’s attempt at a rapprochement with Iran. “The Israel-advocacy complex’s blitz failed to stop the nuclear deal. Instead, it demolished its own vestigial facade of bipartisanship. Pro-Israel groups soon began to function openly as a wing of the Republican party,” wrote Haaretz columnist Joshua Leifer. Trump’s first term deepened the political polarisation. He ghosted the Palestine Liberation Organization, moved the US embassy to Jerusalem and recognised Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. “Trump has arguably done more to push rank-and-file Democrats away from Israel than any pro-Palestinian activist,” Leifer noted.

Netanyahu’s subsequent actions – his calculated embrace of hard-right nationalist-populist politics, support for unchecked territorial expansion and settler land-grabs, and his failed wars in Gaza, Lebanon and now Iran – have further fractured the old consensus. Recent polls indicate a startling turnaround. For the first time, more Americans sympathise with Palestinians than with Israelis. Many question whether the alliance serves US interests and want to halt or limit military aid. Ironically, present-day criticism, like past applause, is bipartisan, coming from both leftwing progressives and Maga supporters.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/21/donald-trump-iran-deal-benjamin-netanyahu-israel-pm-iran

When the Israel lobby went MAGA I lost all patience, hope and respect for it.

[hlthe2b]

1. Gee, I'd be hard pressed to identify another genocidal supposed "democratic" leader more deserving

"failed wars" in Gaza, Lebanon and now Iran," indeed... Go straight to jail, Bibi (hell, would be more deserving, however).

[Lovie777]

2. Nope...............

history books will not be kind for neither.

[sop]

3. And for the millionth time, it's not fueled by "antisemitism."

[FakeNoose]

4. I'm sorry, who are you quoting in this post? It's customary to identify the source

... and hopefully provide a link.

Thanks

[Ponietz]

5. Yes clearly

[Lonestarblue]

6. Netanyahu deserves to spend the rest of his life in jail, along with Smotrich and Ben-Gvir.

They have authorized genocide, war crimes, and just plain murder of Palestinians. What saddens me is that Israelis are angry at stopping the war against Iran instead of being angry with Netanyahu for helping to create this mess. They seem perfectly fine with bombing Lebanon and killing many thousands of innocent men, women, and children so they can supposedly create a buffer zone on Lebanon's land between Lebanon and Israel-- a zone that would quickly be occupied by rabid Israeli settlers just as they continue to illegally occupy the West Bank.

Israelis have a chance to kick Bibi out in the next election, but Naftali Bennett seems to be a frontrunner to replace. Bennett's politics are said to be even further right of Netanyahu's. I'm not sure what his election would mean for Israel, but it's clear that many people around the world have turned against them as a result of their genocide against Palestinians.