Current sectionIsrael NewsHaaretz TodayHaaretz Today Netanyahu's challengers aren't labeling him 'crazy' for striking Lebanon, and are instead painting him as a weak leader who has capitulated to Trump. Watching the opposition hitting the prime minister from the right – not the left – should temper hopes that a Netanyahu defeat will bring a less militaristic regimeShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeAllison Kaplan Sommer07:54 PM • June 03 2026 IDTPresident Donald Trump's "expletive-laden" phone call on Monday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gleefully splashed across Israeli and international media. The U.S. president berated the Israeli leader for escalating attacks in Lebanon and declaring his plan to once again target Beirut's Dahiyeh neighborhood, a Hezbollah stronghold.Loading...Click the alert icon to follow topics:Haaretz Today NewsletterCommentsLoading...In the NewsIn the News: Israel-Iran Live UpdatesBeaufort CastleHezbollahHaaretz BoycottGazaIsrael ElectionsDraft EvasionHaQuizHaaretz PodcastTrump Called Netanyahu 'Fucking Crazy.' Why Won't Bibi's Rivals?Prominent Israeli Reporters Threatened in Graffiti at Channel's Tel Aviv OfficeIsrael Police Seek Far-right, Religious Jewish Cops for Jerusalem's Al-AqsaLebanese Army Says Soldier Killed in Israeli Strike, Two Others WoundedOnly Leftists Would Care What the Gaza War Has Done to Air, Water and LandRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIWho Built the Biblical-era Fortresses in the Deserts of Israel and Jordan?Far-right Israeli Ministers Join Thousands at Israel Day Parade in New YorkUN Report Accuses Israeli Forces of Rape, Sexual Abuse of Palestinian DetaineesNot Lapid or Bennett: Could This Former IDF Chief Be Israel's Next Leader?Israel's Solution to the Gaza Problem Is Well Underway13 Signs That Israel Missed: How Disaster Unfolded the Night Before October 7