One of the main arguments emerging since the Americans refrained from using their veto power in the UN Security Council is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has damaged relations between the nations.
For instance, some argue the animosity does not lie between the countries themselves but between Netanyahu and the United States, or between Netanyahu and Biden. There is Israel, and there is Netanyahu - two separate entities. If only the Netanyahu entity could be nullified or shifted, the Americans would align with Israel's interests in its existential war.
Those who do not fully grasp U.S. policy on the war are likely still dazzled by Biden's speech from the onset of the war.
But here are some of the American demands from Israel, not necessarily from Netanyahu, from that speech to the present: the entry of more aid trucks into the Gaza Strip; the supply of water to Gaza; the admission of Palestinian workers into Israel; discussions on the aftermath of war before a decisive victory over Hamas (historically, no country has ever given its enemy the end plans of the war during the conflict); the reintroduction of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza; repeated calls for cease-fires; the establishment of a pier aimed at transferring more aid to the enemy funded by the enemy state of Qatar; opening the Ashdod port for the entry of flour to the Strip and opening the Kerem Shalom crossing and other land crossings.
Not to mention Secretary of State Blinken's request for a one-on-one meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, the imposition of sanctions on settlers and outposts and raising the question of Palestinian statehood, which is intolerable.
According to the logic of Netanyahu's critics, none of this would have happened had he not been leading the country. In fact, the Americans would have been pushing us to enter Rafah and reprimanding us for hesitating.
The list of American demands does not pertain to the presence of any particular prime minister but to the American attempt to halt the war in Gaza to avoid, at all costs, being dragged into a war with Iran
This underscores how ludicrous the argument that Netanyahu is responsible for the tension between the nations is, raising the question of why the accusing finger isn't pointed at the real culprits: the Biden administration. How difficult is it to state the obvious—that the Americans are stiffening their stance because they do not wish for us to prevail? What’s the worst that could happen—a strain between Israeli journalists and the Biden administration?
The list of American demands does not pertain to the presence of any particular prime minister but to the American attempt to halt the war in Gaza to avoid, at all costs, being dragged into a war with Iran—a scenario they are desperately trying to avoid.
In their efforts not to antagonize Iran, they have granted it concessions: just last week, they prevented European countries from imposing sanctions on Iran and on weapons it sells to countries like Russia.
Meanwhile, the American government imposed sanctions that blocked the transfer of donation funds to a memorial project for Harel Sharvit, who fell in the Gaza war—the very Gaza the Americans are fighting to save.
With all due respect to Netanyahu, he is not the reason for the tension, nor does everything revolve around animosity toward him. It's plausible that there's another factor at play, such as Israel's continued dependence on the United States—a dependence we feel the effects of during these days of war.
It's not solely about the primal fear of a day when Israel might not exist, which for some may subconsciously translate into the need to keep the United States as a potential refuge. There's also the possibility that some of those promoting the "Netanyahu is sabotaging relations" narrative struggle with their own people and thus rely on the Americans to save them from the Smotriches, the Ben Gvirs and the Netanyahus. Unfortunately, from what we can see, the Americans are currently preoccupied mainly with saving Gaza and Iran.
However, there's also a reverse dependency—where the Americans, perhaps as in the past, might prefer not to let Israel win too much. From their perspective, an Israeli victory could mean Israel will be less willing to make concessions in post-war negotiations—if there are no political agreements that leave Israel in a weaker position, then what's the point? Some prefer their post-war negotiations when Israel is defeated and diminished. Netanyahu might just be an obstacle to that.