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Andrea Nicastro
Even with the US yes to new raids in the region, friction remains over the steps for phase 2
FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaves Florida and flies home with in his pocket the American green light to resume bombings on three fronts: Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
The Hamas and Hezbollah militias must disarm otherwise they will be hit again, the American president said. Iran must demonstrate that it no longer pursues atomic technologies nor does it replenish the missile arsenal consumed in the 12-day war in June. It is not yet certain that he is doing so. The Israeli secret services are convinced so, the American ones doubt. But if Trump senses the danger, Israel and the United States will knock Iran out “again”, to the ground.
In the Trumpian palace of Mar-a-Lago The theorem according to which the Jewish State will be safe only when it has unarmed neighbors around it has triumphed and physically incapable of harming him.
According to the spokesmen, the harmony between the two leaders was “the best of the six summits we have had so far”. Trump described the prime minister as a “war hero, savior of Israel”. Netanyahu made up for missing the Nobel Peace Prize with the 2026 Israel Prize.
Are the bombings just a matter of time or the threat to get the three enemies disarmed before shooting? It depends on the answer. None of the three say they are willing to give in. Above all, Iran wants to maintain its deterrence and this also includes Hezbollah.
In recent days, Tehran announced that a massive attack on the Lebanese militia would be considered an attack on Iran itself. The region’s Arab and Israeli media agreed, but they did not all believe in the harmony between Trump and Netanyahu.
Peace with Syria and the involvement of Turkish troops in Gaza are elements of friction that the two leaders have allowed to emerge. Trump is in favor, Bibi is not. Another is the offensive by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank. “We’re not 100% in agreement, but we’ll come to a summary,” Trump said.
According to Israeli army data, there have been around two attacks per day by settlers in the last 24 months: 752 in 2025. Virtually no one has been charged, a sign that the state supports them. The expansion of the colonies (illegal under international law as well as under Israeli law) is impressive. By now i Palestinians have been displaced by violence from around 60 percent of the West Bank.
Trump’s voter base is divided on the issue. Many share the aggression against the Iranian axis, but contest the personal violence against pastors and civilians. According to the online media Axios, lTrump’s team challenged the Israelis about the several billion dollars that Israel collects in taxes from the Palestinians, but refuses to hand over to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to whom they belong. For Netanyahu it is a way to break what little Palestinian government exists. Trump, on the other hand, must also please Saudi allies and business partners who would also like the PA to be in charge of Gaza. At least there is a crack in the steel alliance.
December 30, 2025
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