Israel cannot afford to defy Trump over Iran: Gideon Levy

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Gideon Levy, a columnist for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, discussed Israel's domestic political landscape following direct missile strikes between Israel and Iran. He noted that Israel is not in a position to say no to US President Donald Trump, and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is especially unable to defy him. Levy stated that Israel's dependence on the United States has reached an unprecedented level, as Israel cannot attack Iran without US support and has become an isolated "pariah state" that cannot lose its last ally. Regarding Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz's vow to hit Hezbollah at full strength, Levy said such rhetoric is aimed at the central committee of his party for electoral primaries, not at actual policy. On public consensus, Levy observed that while support for war with Iran had reached 93 percent, he believes that support is now decreasing due to war fatigue and a slow realization that nothing was achieved in Gaza, Lebanon, or Iran. Levy described Netanyahu as being in a deadlock: his life project of defeating Iran by force has proven fake, but he must save face while depending entirely on Trump. He dismissed statements from far-right ministers like Ben-Gvir or Smotrich that Israel can fight Iran alone, calling them hollow and evil declarations. Levy concluded that Netanyahu is realistic enough to know that Israel cannot fight any war without US military, international, and financial support. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X: https://X.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook:   / aljazeera   Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page:   / aljazeeraenglish   Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.news/AJEMobile #Trump#Netanyahu #Iran #Israel #USIranTalks #USIranCeasefire #IranWar #USIsraelWarOnIRan #LebanonWar #GazaWar #IranIsraelAttacks #USIsraelRelations #AlJazeeraEnglish