PM Benjamin Netanyahu stands at the height of a colossal strategic failure for Israel, says Haaretz's Yossi Verter
Israeli analysts sharply criticised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, describing him as a “failure”. a “liar”, while noting that United States President Donald Trump “humiliated” him by excluding him from anagreement with Iranto end their military conflict.
On Monday evening, Netanyahu acknowledged that he was unaware of the details of the memorandum of understanding reached between Washington. Tehran to end the war launched by theUS and Israel against Iran on February 28.
Netanyahu claimed he had saved Israelis from “nuclear annihilation” by launching the war against Iran andacknowledged differencesof opinion with Trump. saying such disagreements “exist in the best of families”.
While Trump said on Monday that the US. Iran had already signed the agreement and that the Strait of Hormuz “will be fully reopened by Friday”, Tehran has said only that the memorandum is scheduled to besigned in Switzerlandon June 19.
Observers say the prior electronic signing of the deal appears to have enabled an immediate temporary ceasefire. the lifting of a US naval blockade on Iran, while the Friday ceremony is expected to formalise the agreement and launch 60 days of technical negotiations.
‘Architect of failure’
Haaretzcolumnist Yossi Verter launched a scathing attack on Netanyahu in an article headlined: “Without shame. the architect of failure claimed he saved Israel from collective death. It was another lie among many.”
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“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands at the height of what any objective expert would define as a colossal strategic failure for the State of Israel. all he has to tell its citizens is: ‘Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, not as long as I am prime minister’,” he wrote.
Netanyahu “has been saying that for 30 years. Yet in the same breath. at his press conference on Monday, Netanyahu claimed Israel had been a hair's breadth away from ‘mass death’ — a catastrophe he supposedly prevented”, he added.
Tel Aviv and Washington accuse Tehran of pursuing nuclear weapons that threaten Israel and US allies in the region. Iran, however, maintains that its nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful, says it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons. insists it poses no threat to other states.
Israel, which occupies Palestinian territory as well as land in Lebanon. Syria, is widely believed to be the only country in the Middle East with a nuclear arsenal, although it has never officially acknowledged possessing one and is not subject to safeguards by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Verter said previous boasts by Netanyahu about “historic achievements for generations”. claims that Iran’s nuclear project had been pushed back by decades “seemed to have dissolved into the sour fog that has descended on Israel”.
“Gone, too, are the lofty goals that accompanied every confrontation with Iran: toppling the regime, or at least creating the conditions for its downfall; eliminating the nuclear. ballistic threats; severing Tehran's ties to its proxy organisations,” he added.
Netanyahu “has no idea what is contained in the memorandum of understanding the US. Iran digitally signed behind his back. The Iranians know. The Pakistanis know. Presumably, the Qataris know. Netanyahu, it seems, does not”, the columnist said.
He added that Netanyahu “sought to minimise the crisis in his relationship with Trump. whom he notably refrained from showering with his usual praise”, saying: “True. But in the best families, disagreements are not usually accompanied by the daily insults, humiliations. public snubs coming from an increasingly impatient American president.”
Verter further accused Netanyahu of making a mix of half-truths, exaggerations. manipulations that dominated the event, like “we destroyed the Iranian navy”.
He also challenged Netanyahu’s assertion that Israel prevented Hezbollah’s Radwan Force from invading Israel, calling it “an utter lie”.
Verter said Netanyahu claimed that the Israeli. American air forces inflicted cumulative damage on Iran worth “hundreds of billions of dollars — some estimate a trillion”.
He concluded that Netanyahu’s press conference “projected defeat”, adding that even when he declared that he would “run. win” Israel's next election, he sounded somewhat sceptical himself.
Maarivcolumnist Ben Caspit wrote an article titled: “Netanyahu’s show is over: Trump threw him under the bus.”
Caspit questioned Netanyahu’s repeated warnings that Israel had “escaped certain death”. asking who had placed the country in such a position in the first place.
He argued that invoking the threat of “annihilation” was intended to obscure responsibility for Israel’s failures regarding Iran.
“Once again, Israel was left outside the picture,” he added.
Netanyahu has been wanted by theInternational Criminal Court since 2024over accusations of war crimes. crimes against humanity committed against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during Israel’s genocidal campaign, which has killed morethan 73,000 peopleand injured over 173,000 others since October 2023.
Caspit noted that Netanyahu did not mention Trump by name during his press conference, even during the question-and-answer session.
Also Read:Israeli politicians slam Netanyahu, call US-Iran deal ‘greatest strategic failure’ for Israel
“He also admitted he knew nothing about the agreement that was signed electronically without his knowledge,” Caspit wrote. “It is reminiscent of another agreement signed in 2015.”
“Netanyahu always ends up in the same position,” he continued. “He is pushed aside, thrown under the bus,. left standing in the hallway like a scolded child waiting for a verdict that was delivered in his absence.”
Questioning Netanyahu’s claims of success, Caspit wrote: “Yesterday he boasted that ‘we inflicted severe damage on Iran’s economy.’ Fine —. so what? They could soon become an even greater economic power than before.”
He added that Iran could ultimately “impose fees on transit through the Strait of Hormuz”, while sanctions may be lifted. hundreds of billions of dollars in frozen assets released.
“So what value is the damage we inflicted if it can be repaired so quickly?” Caspit asked.
“Without shame, the architect of failure claimed he had saved Israel from annihilation. That was just another lie among many.”
‘Greatest humiliation’
In a separate analysis published bytheWallanewsportal, commentator Barak Seri argued that Netanyahu’s sense of triumph “turned within a single day into his greatest concern. greatest humiliation”.
Seri noted that Netanyahu had not addressed the Israeli media since March despite the wars involving Iran. Hezbollah and missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage in Israel, choosing instead to speak almost exclusively to foreign outlets, particularly American media.
“But last night he decided to speak,” Seri wrote. “The reason was the dismal outcome of the agreement with Iran. the bitter sense of anxiety prevailing in Israel, including among his own supporters.”
He added that senior Israeli officials viewed the deal as “bad. dangerous for Israel”, describing it as “a real disaster” that was reached without Israel’s interests being taken into account.
Seri argued that “none of the war’s objectives were achieved” — not eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat, not removing the ballistic missile threat, not creating conditions for regime change,. not addressing Tehran’s continued support for Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
Mocking one of the outcomes touted by supporters of the US-Iran agreement. he wrote: “The Strait of Hormuz has been opened. What a great achievement — it was open before the war.”
“Trump’s harsh. humiliating reversal against Netanyahu and Israel, accompanied by reports of difficult conversations, insults and threats, quickly leaked to the media,” Seri said. “Trump subjected Netanyahu to a genuine public humiliation.”
The US is a main ally to Israel and generally provides Tel Aviv with military, financial and political support.
Israel has occupied Palestinian territory. areas in Lebanon and Syria for decades and rejects withdrawal from those territories as well as the establishment of an independent Palestinian state envisioned in relevant UN resolutions.
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