It's mostly about appeasing the Obiden administration so it doesn't act unilaterally against Israeli interests in its remaining lame duck weeks.
https://x.com/BloombergYuval/status/1861102659089932388
Regarding an apparent agreement with Lebanon/Hezbollah.
Throughout most of the war it was difficult (for me) to form an immediate principled opinion regarding specific moves due to the lack of concrete information. Several principles were clear in my opinion:
1. The Philadelphia Axis should remain in Israel's hands because of its strategic significance.
2. The war in Gaza cannot end before the return of all the abductees and the full and absolute defeat of Hamas.
3. Critical need for the war in Lebanon in order to remove the Hezbollah threat for many, many years to come plus the possibility of leaving freedom of action to continue attacks at any given moment.
4. Critical need for a very significant military operation against Iran in order to eliminate/delay the nuclear threat and cause the Iranian regime as much economic damage as possible (through damage to the oil fields). And of course contribute as much as possible to the overthrow of the Iranian regime.
Over the past year, it was clear that Netanyahu was maneuvering between a number of powerful factors that are working to thwart him and the policies he is leading:
1. His partners in the government, Gantz and Eisenkot, worked to thwart him and stop the war in Gaza.
2. Minister of Defense Gallant and the Chief of Staff, worked under him in cooperation with the American administration to stop the war, slow it down or disrupt its goals as Netanyahu defined them (total victory, entry into Rafah, occupation and abandonment of the area, and more).
3. An American administration that ranges between support (especially in the early stages of the war) and an arms embargo on Israel, open and covert threats and cooperation with subversive elements from within Israel.
4. International legal activity against Israel, apparently with the support of leftist elements from the country who provided evidence, similar to what they did in the past with the Goldstone report (after cast lead). There is no evidence for this yet, but since this is a regular whistle-blowing practice that has been going on for many years, it can be assumed that they have not stopped it in the last year.
5. The Israeli media that did not stop, even for one second, inflaming hatred and agitating the streets against the government, mainly through extensive use of the subject of the abductees.
7. A hostile legal system that did everything to disrupt his work and the work of the government.
***
Considering all of this, Netanyahu was able to maneuver well towards the goals he set, and especially against the Biden administration, which became downright hostile in the months before the elections.
Since more than any other leader, Netanyahu has demonstrated the greatest determination regarding the use of military force to achieve the goals he has set, it can be assumed that if he is considering an agreement with Lebanon, it does not stem from a lack of determination, but from other considerations.
As far as it seems, the biggest risk facing us right now is an action by the Biden administration, seeking political revenge, against the State of Israel. Since the elections, this administration has become a strategic danger and the biggest fear is international moves against the State of Israel through the Security Council, just as Obama did in his last minute in the White House, but this time maybe worse. The implication is that Netanyahu should do almost anything in order to avoid such an action.
Of course, causing political damage of this kind is a happy event for the Israeli left, which openly calls for sanctions on Israel, a boycott of Israel, the intervention of the Security Council and support for the arrest warrants for Netanyahu, and if possible for other personalities as well. (Parts there also wish for arrest warrants against IDF soldiers and officers).
Therefore, this is the perspective by which the criticism of the leaders and people of the left on the agreement with Lebanon should be judged. Their preferred goal is a confrontation between Netanyahu and the administration, a confrontation that will lead to damage to the country that they can take care of for Netanyahu. Beyond that, they themselves demanded many times to stop the war in Gaza and prevent a war against Lebanon (on the grounds that we cannot meet the price, etc...). All these make their criticism political, meaningless and unreliable.
And the most pathetic group, as usual, are the right-right-right squealers, some of whom are currently having a tantrum. As we know, it is never possible to compete with their militant bravado and the "ideological perfection" that characterizes them. They always know how to sound more demanding, more determined, more courageous, but in practice, at the moment of the test, they end up crying and moved in the comforting arms of the Muslim Brotherhood and the radical left. These, in my opinion, are the closest thing to modern Saturns. The way they conduct themselves, and the humiliating way they finish.
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