Israel under Netanyahu has lost its military edge, become passive, Bennett charges

Under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel has become passive and lost its qualitative military edge, former premier Naftali Bennett alleges.

“The Middle East is undergoing tectonic changes before our eyes. Our enemies are getting stronger, and Netanyahu, Smotrich and their gang are paralyzed, passive, as if they don’t exist,” Bennett writes in a lengthy post on X.

“Qatar, the capital of Hamas terror, signs a trillion-dollar agreement with the US, upgrades its strategic military position… Erdogan’s Turkey receives a shot of legitimacy and F-35 jets from the US… Syria… is released from all sanctions without giving up anything… [and] Saudi Arabia receives approval for a nuclear program, and Israel loses the qualitative military advantage we had for 50 years, which is one of the essential assets for our existence,” he asserts.

This week, US President Donald Trump signed an agreement with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani that will “generate an economic exchange worth at least $1.2 trillion,” as well as a mammoth arms deal worth nearly $142 billion with Saudi Arabia.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia and the United States are discussing a deal to cooperate on the kingdom’s ambitions to develop a civil nuclear industry.

Trump has also lifted sanctions on Syria and is reportedly considering selling advanced fighter aircraft to Turkey.

“As a former defense minister and prime minister, I cannot overstate the severity of the long-term damage to Israel,” Bennett continues.

While “Iran is at the weakest moment in its history, devoid of air defenses, with an old leadership, disconnected and hated by its people,” Israel has failed to harness the US “for political and economic action to overthrow the regime,” he declares.

Last month, The New York Times reported that Trump quashed Israeli proposals for a series of joint strikes next month on Iranian nuclear facilities, opting instead to try for a diplomatic solution to the problem of Tehran’s nuclear program.

Turning to the Israeli army’s current manpower shortage, Bennett accuses the government of failing to mobilize the Haredim, charging that it is “only hindering the necessary change, and throwing all the burden on reservists who have already given their all.”

“The only place where you see ‘initiatives’ from the government is in posts, TikToks, and unnecessary trolling laws that only fuel internal hatred,” he writes.

Agencies contributed to this report.