Israeli opposition leaders criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday after President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that Hezbollah had agreed to stop all shooting and that no troops would be sent to Beirut, hours after Israel threatened to strike the Lebanese capital’s Dahieh district.
Israelis again received news of a halt in fighting not from their own government but from the U.S. president, about seven hours after Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered a strike in Dahieh, which ultimately did not take place, at least for now.
“A full-on vassal,” Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said.
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, head of the new Yahad party, linked the handling of Lebanon to chaos during ultra-Orthodox protests that blocked roads for hours and to the overnight break-in at a police station in Beit Shemesh.
“Jerusalem. Beit Shemesh. Lebanon. Gaza. The location changes, the story is the same,” Bennett said. “A government that has lost control over Israeli sovereignty. Chaos everywhere. We will restore security to Israel’s citizens.”
Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Lieberman said it was unacceptable that northern Israel had been under heavy fire for days while Netanyahu waited for Trump’s approval to strike Dahieh.
“We are not a banana republic,” Lieberman said. “Dahieh must be flattened now, and we must not stop until the last building there is brought down.”
Criticism also came from within the coalition. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote to Netanyahu: “You said a strong prime minister says ‘yes’ to the U.S. president when possible and ‘no’ when necessary. This is the time to tell our friend, President Trump, ‘no.’”
He said Israel must “strike Hezbollah, free the hands of our fighters and restore security to the north.”
In his Truth Social post, Trump wrote that he had a “very productive call” with Netanyahu, adding that “there will be no troops going to Beirut” and that any troops already on their way “have already been turned back.”
He also said that, through “highly placed representatives,” he had held “a very good call with Hezbollah” and that the group had agreed “that all shooting will stop.”
“Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel,” Trump wrote.