In his bid to undermine the legitimacy of Israel’s new government, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has no qualms about torpedoing its efforts to forge a solid working relationship with the Biden administration. Not only was Netanyahu responsible directly for tearing apart the fabric of relations between Israel and the Democratic Party during the Trump administration, he is now trying to drive a wedge between the new government and the Democratic administration by riding the same old Iranian horse he rode to clinch his close ties with the Republicans.
In fact, Netanyahu accused Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid, whom he called the “acting prime minister” in a pointed dig at Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, of selling out to the Americans. Addressing his Likud Knesset faction on June 21, Netanyahu referred to the June 18 phone call between Lapid and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Reportedly, the two ministers had agreed to adopt a "no surprises" policy. Netanyahu blamed Lapid for tying Israel’s hands. Netanyahu claimed a “zero surprise” policy meant restricting Israel’s military actions, thereby abandoning Israel’s security.
