With elections scheduled for October, Israel's global standing has drawn scrutiny across numerous nations, including the United States, where perceptions of the country have shifted unfavourably in recent years. An incoming government faces the task of addressing a governance record that analysts have characterised by operational achievements alongside what they describe as an absence of long-term strategic direction.
Analysts have noted that the absence of such direction could carry consequences across diplomatic, trade, and defence spheres. Since 7 October, Israeli forces have reported a series of battlefield gains against Hamas in Gaza, along with operations targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon and, to a more limited degree, Iranian-backed positions.
Following a period of internal upheaval, Syria has shed much of its military threat to neighbouring states and has indicated a willingness to pursue diplomatic normalisation. Lebanon, which has served as an operational hub for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps over recent decades, now has a government that appears open to normalising ties with Israel and potentially pursuing a process to disarm Hezbollah. Analysts have attributed those outcomes to a combination of military capability and sustained diplomatic backing from successive American governments.
Polling data and commentary over the three-year duration of the conflict point to a notable decline in public backing for Israel among Americans, along with a weakening of the longstanding cross-party consensus that had positioned Israel as a partner deserving of military and diplomatic backing from the United States. The erosion of support for Israel across a broad segment of the American public has been attributed in part to the country's own actions and policies.
Notwithstanding the range of operational gains recorded by the IDF and Israel's security services, analysts have argued that the Netanyahu government did not apply the principle that military force serves broader political objectives, leaving battlefield achievements without a corresponding diplomatic or governance framework. Reports indicate that Netanyahu had the opportunity to reach an agreement securing the release of all living hostages at an earlier stage, though a deal was ultimately concluded only after pressure from President Trump and US negotiators, a process that some accounts suggest came at the cost of multiple hostages' lives.
Following the November 2024 ceasefire, analysts have noted that Netanyahu had the option to engage with Lebanese government overtures aimed at establishing mutual recognition and exploring the potential disarmament of Hezbollah. Instead, a brief silence followed. Netanyahu also had the option of permitting a Palestinian technocratic administration to move into Gaza and assume responsibility for civilian infrastructure in the aftermath of a ceasefire, a step he declined to take, with some accounts suggesting he was wary of losing the backing of his coalition partners.
Israel's room for manoeuvre has narrowed in recent years, with American influence shaping the boundaries of its strategic options. Over the course of several decades, Netanyahu has presided over a shift in Israel's standing among the American public, with a notable portion of that population now questioning the country's conduct and its expectations of unconditional support from the United States.
Henry Kissinger once remarked that domestic politics tended to drive foreign policy in Israel, a view that some analysts argue Netanyahu has embodied by placing his own political continuity above the country's broader strategic interests. Within US-Israeli relations, that perspective has contributed, according to analysts, to a growing distance between Israel and the Democratic Party, a notable portion of American Jewish communities, and, more recently, certain factions within the Republican Party.
The violence occurring in the West Bank, which US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has described as acts carried out by Jewish terrorists, has been cited as an illustration of the consequences attributed to those policy directions. Netanyahu's primary focus has centred on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability, though analysts note he has shown little regard for the value of sustaining cross-party American backing for Israel as part of advancing that objective.
On multiple occasions, Netanyahu has sought to influence domestic political affairs in the United States, through approaches ranging from understated to overt. As early as 2002, while not holding public office, he appeared before Congress to give testimony calling for the ouster of then-Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. He publicly backed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in the latter's contest against then-president Barack Obama in 2012. In 2010, Netanyahu reportedly pursued the idea of a joint congressional address on Iran — contrary to Obama's position at the time — as part of an effort to prevent the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action from being concluded.
Restoring Israel's standing internationally has been identified by analysts as among the foremost challenges confronting whatever administration takes power next. Analysts have also noted that avoiding any appearance of involvement in domestic American political matters remains a clear priority for an incoming Israeli government. Historically, administrations of both parties have avoided intervening in the internal political affairs of allied nations.
Analysts have suggested that an incoming Israeli government could proactively inform Washington of a wish to decline further military assistance from the United States. Israel's GDP per capita surpasses that of both France and the United Kingdom, leading some analysts to contend that the country has the financial resources to cover its own defence expenditure, a view that others argue could reshape congressional debates over military assistance.
Both countries have identified a shared imperative to accelerate development of next-generation weaponry — AI-driven, low-cost systems designed to counter non-conventional military threats. Collaborative engagement on that issue, analysts have suggested, could alter how perceptions of Israel are framed in public debate.
The United States has long maintained a close alliance with Israel, with that backing rooted in both aligned principles and geopolitical interests. Analysts have described Israel's continued existence as dependent on support from the United States and the relationships maintained with the world's foremost power. Restoring Israel's standing on the world stage is a process that analysts say will demand sustained effort over an extended period, though many view it as an achievable goal. Restoring democratic governance with equal rights and responsibilities for all citizens — consistent with the country's founding declaration — alongside an effective governmental structure, could, analysts have argued, strengthen the basis for a productive alliance and partnership between the two nations.
