Pressure is mounting on Netanyahu.

President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu during their meeting in 2025. Photo: AFP

President Trump made the statement after a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and contact with Hezbollah through intermediaries on June 1st. According to Axios, in an attempt to persuade Israel to cease fire, President Trump used harsh and even insulting language towards Netanyahu.

However, Prime Minister Netanyahu's agreement to a ceasefire under pressure from a call from Trump has drawn fierce criticism domestically. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a right-wing hawk, argued that the Netanyahu government had lost national sovereignty by making concessions to the American leader on Israel's national security issues.

Another former prime minister, Yair Lapid, a centrist who recently announced a reunion with Bennett in the upcoming election campaign, took to social media to mock "total protectionism," implicitly accusing Netanyahu of allowing the U.S. to dominate Israel's military policy as if it were a dependent nation.

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In fact, Prime Minister Netanyahu is under particular pressure to prove that his campaigns against Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran have yielded results, with elections approaching and his political career under threat. This is a truly difficult time for Netanyahu.

On June 1st, the Israeli Knesset voted 106-0 to approve the first reading of a bill to dissolve parliament, suggesting that early elections could take place in September. Meanwhile, Netanyahu's approval ratings have plummeted as the war in Iran, as well as the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, continue to drag on and risk becoming a quagmire with no end in sight. Recent Israeli attacks demonstrate that Hezbollah still possesses the capability to threaten the country's security.

The past scandals involving fraud and bribery are not over for Netanyahu. Hearings on the case have just resumed. Netanyahu has previously used his position as prime minister in a nation under threat to delay the trial, but that excuse is no longer acceptable.

Clearly, Netanyahu's immediate goals differ from Trump's political situation. Trump needs a peace deal with Iran to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and stabilize the oil market ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. Conversely, Netanyahu needs to dismantle Hezbollah to restore security in the border region with Lebanon before the upcoming elections. Netanyahu also announced a plan to control 70% of the Gaza Strip, a move that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 2nd that contradicts President Trump's Gaza plan.

In a social media post on June 2nd, President Trump stated that the U.S. and Iran maintain regular exchanges, rejecting reports that Tehran had ceased contact with Washington regarding Israeli attacks in Lebanon. Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Secretary of State Rubio also indicated that the prospect of reaching an agreement remains and could emerge in the near future. However, tit-for-tat attacks between the U.S. and Iran continued on June 2nd.