American Pressure and Cabinet Rift Push Netanyahu to Hold Back on Lebanon

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has enlisted former minister Ron Dermer in recent days to calm ministers pressing for stronger action in Lebanon. The dispute intensified in the past day, before the ceasefire announced today, as U.S. demands to soften Israel’s military activity led to tense and heated discussions in small forums.

Dermer was brought into the restricted talks to explain why Israel should not “pull the rope” too far against Washington. He described the moment as an emergency and warned that Israel must avoid steps that would worsen its diplomatic position. “This is a true state of emergency,” Dermer said in the discussions. “The situation is not simple, and we must not make it worse. Trump must not see Israel as responsible for causing the effort to reach a final agreement with Iran to fail.”

Netanyahu and Dermer are reportedly hoping President Donald Trump will eventually understand that the Iranians cannot be trusted, and that Israel should “bite its lip” and wait for the current pressure to pass while preserving red lines in Lebanon. But cabinet ministers, especially in the security cabinet’s smaller forum, say Israel is acting too passively.

The criticism is being led by Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, along with additional Likud ministers. Three ministers familiar with the details said that an event like last night’s, in which four soldiers were killed, requires “new equations.” “With all due respect to the ginger [Trump], he will not attend the funerals of the four fallen,” they said. The ministers added that Israel must set the rules itself now, before outside actors define them for it permanently.