Iran鈥檚 government is . and haven’t been defeated. U.S. President interests may be diverging from Israel’s.
Wars with Iran and its proxies haven鈥檛 gone according to plan for , and that could mean trouble for Israel鈥檚 longest-serving prime minister in elections scheduled for later this year. Many Israelis are dissatisfied with the Netanyahu government鈥檚 wartime leadership, according to a recent poll.
At the against Iran in late February, Netanyahu said the goal was to degrade the Islamic Republic’s military, eradicate its and create the conditions for its overthrow. While Iran鈥檚 military has been badly damaged, it is still a threat to neighbors and ships in the 鈥� and Netanyahu’s other goals remained unfulfilled when a ceasefire was announced earlier this month.
Israel鈥檚 latest war with has also been cut short. said he agreed to a truce at the request of Trump but that Israel was 鈥渘ot finished yet鈥� with the Iran-backed militant group; Israeli forces are still occupying a 10-kilometer- (6-mile-) deep swath of southern Lebanon.
The recent poll showing Israelis’ dissatisfaction comes on top of the 鈥� another instance in which Trump pressured Netanyahu to wind down military operations. More than two years after Hamas鈥� October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war, the Iran-backed militant group is weakened but still standing.
鈥淎fter 925 days of fighting since October 7, Israel has failed to achieve decisive victory on any front,鈥� wrote Yoav Limor, a prominent military affairs commentator. 鈥淎t the end of yet another war, it is perceived as a country whose decisions are not made in Jerusalem, but in Washington.鈥�
For his part, Netanyahu has cast the war with Iran as a success, a preemptive strike against an 鈥渆xistential鈥� threat. 鈥淲e crushed the Iranian regime鈥檚 destruction machine in advance,鈥� he recently said.
Frustrations with Netanyahu鈥檚 government have persisted
Trust in Netanyahu鈥檚 government nose-dived after the deadly 2023 Hamas attack. He spent the next two years waging a fierce retaliatory campaign against Hamas and its allies and secured the release of dozens of hostages from Gaza as part of a ceasefire deal.
Israel has also enjoyed a number of military successes against Iran and its Lebanese proxy, the Hezbollah militant group. But these gains do not appear to have benefited Netanyahu personally. While the latest wars against Iran and Hezbollah were widely supported, the inconclusive outcomes have left many Israelis feeling fatigued and disappointed.
鈥淧eople were disappointed because it hadn鈥檛 achieved the goals,鈥� said Dahlia Scheindlin, a political analyst in Tel Aviv.
A poll by the Israel Democracy Institute, a centrist think tank in Jerusalem, during the first week of the war against Iran found a solid majority of respondents, 64%, trusted Netanyahu to direct the campaign. But a second poll in the days after the April 8 ceasefire found that Israelis rated the management of the war by the government 鈥� not just Netanyahu 鈥� more negatively than positively.
The poll, which was conducted before the U.S. brokered and extended the ceasefire in Lebanon, also found that a majority of Israelis thought the fighting in Lebanon against Hezbollah should continue.
Pushed into two ceasefires, back to back
Since the ceasefires with Iran and Hezbollah, Israelis have begun to question whether the relationship between Netanyahu and Trump 鈥� and Israel and the United States 鈥� is as strong as it was before the wars began.
Though from those of Netanyahu, the U.S. president has continued to publicly laud Israel. He wrote on Truth Social recently that “whether people like Israel or not, they have proven to be a GREAT Ally of the United States of America.鈥�
He said Thursday that he’d host Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House in the 鈥渘ear future” for talks on the truce, describing it as an honor.
Israelis have their doubts.
In the Israel Democracy Institute鈥檚 poll, most Israelis said there was a 鈥渇airly鈥� or 鈥渧ery鈥� low likelihood that the agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran would take Israel鈥檚 security into account to an appropriate degree.
Asked about the leaders’ relationship, Netanyahu’s office declined to comment. But an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations said Trump and Netanyahu still speak every day.
Late last year, Netanyahu announced he would award the Israel Prize, one of the country鈥檚 highest honors, to Trump, making him the first foreign leader to receive it. Israel invited Trump to formally accept the award in Jerusalem on April 22, as part of the country鈥檚 78th celebration of its independence.
The day came and went without a Trump visit.
In northern Israel, anger and fear are palpable
The ceasefire with Lebanon has stoked deep disappointment in Israeli towns near the border that have endured a month and a half of missile fire from Hezbollah.
鈥淚 live 100 meters from the border,” said Asaf Oakil, a resident of Kiryat Shmona. 鈥淭he ceasefire? It鈥檚 a mistake.鈥�
Shops are still closed and protests have broken out in recent days, with much of the anger directed at Netanyahu.
鈥淚 really hope that the residents of the north will learn from this and vote for someone who can help us here, not someone who brings us down and buries us,” said Shosh Tsaoula, another resident of Kiryat Shmona.
Netanyahu鈥檚 government is in the final months of its four-year term and is required to hold elections by the end of October.
Two opposition politicians 鈥� Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid 鈥� announced Sunday that they would in the next election. Another popular opposition figure, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, is also expected to team up with the two men.
Nadav Eyal, a commentator with the Israeli Yediot Ahronoth daily newspaper, said that Netanyahu is in 鈥渂ig trouble鈥� if he cannot convince Israelis that the wars with Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas have led to lasting security gains.
鈥淲ith unstable ceasefires that can lapse at any given point, voters will be not happy about it.鈥�
___
AP reporters Ibrahim Hazboun and Sam Metz in Jerusalem contributed reporting.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
