The 5 steps Israel needs to climb out of its strategic low point

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

63% : But Trump is the president of the United States, and Israel currently depends on the U.S. in every respect.
57% : Such a move would strengthen Israel's legitimacy to demand and exercise freedom of military action if Hezbollah acts or tries to rebuild its capabilities.
54% : In Israel, the public mood resembles that of the United States.
53% : For the first time, a Lebanese government is explicitly saying it wants a permanent non-belligerence arrangement with Israel.
52% : Israel can and should act in five areas First, it must avoid a confrontation with Trump and instead try to coordinate moves with him that may fall far short of "total victory" but could preserve national security, achieve long-term quiet and allow Israel, with U.S. help, to prepare better over time for the possibility that it will once again have to confront Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
51% : To achieve this, Israel can use Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and commanders and officers at CENTCOM, who can explain the military situation to the president.
51% : But such a step will only be effective if Israel makes clear that it is prepared to withdraw from most of the forward area in southern Lebanon, provided that the security of the Galilee is guaranteed through an arrangement with the Lebanese government, backed by additional diplomatic and economic steps by the U.S., Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and France.
50% : Beneath the Ali Taher ridge lies the main headquarters of this zone, and from other tunnel systems in the area, fire has been launched directly from underground toward communities in the Galilee and northern Israel, reaching as far as Haifa and Tiberias.
49% : Fourth, Israel must accelerate negotiations with the Lebanese government.
46% : The Iranians have managed to link the arenas and see that as an asset and a bargaining chip in negotiations with the U.S. Israel can use the same linkage in reverse.
46% : At the same time, Lebanon's reconstruction must be guaranteed so Iran cannot extend its patronage over the country using funds released to Tehran and the Revolutionary Guards following an agreement with the U.S. A plan like this, implemented through a focused and well-managed diplomatic and military effort, could allow Israel to climb out of the strategic hole in which it now finds itself.
44% : In this context, Israel must recognize another fact: a "forward security zone," as it is now defined, just like the "security strip" or "buffer zone" of the past, does not provide security for northern Israel.
44% : These facts point to a strategic plan of action for Israel that could reduce casualties and damage, improve security in the north and, no less importantly, repair relations with the White House.
44% : Third, the Israeli government must launch a public diplomacy campaign explaining to its own citizens and to the American public what Israel is currently doing in Lebanon and why it matters.
43% : Fifth, Israel should demand that the U.S., Saudi Arabia, France and the UAE immediately strengthen the Lebanese army through an emergency program and help establish several special units capable of asserting control in areas from which the IDF withdraws.
42% : Either way, the absence of an effective message at home and abroad means Israel is failing to convince even its friends in Washington and Europe that Hezbollah is the side that has not stopped firing, and that it is doing so because of Iranian demands and in an effort to protect its fighters trapped in tunnels beneath the village of Tebnit.
42% : This is a dramatic shift that Israel must exploit and do everything possible not to miss, because it undermines the legitimacy Hezbollah claims for itself as Lebanon's defender.
41% : That area contains the underground and aboveground infrastructure Hezbollah calls its operational zone facing Israel, the Badr area.
41% : The government and most of the public, including parts of the Shiite community, want Hezbollah to disarm, or at least stop fighting Israel at Iran's demand.
39% : First, Israel must recognize the facts and quickly develop an alternative strategy that can pull it out of the crisis with minimal damage.
38% : Israel is now at one of the lowest strategic and moral points it has faced during the October 7 war, perhaps one of the gravest in its history.
38% : That means Israel cannot rely on a long-term personal relationship with him.
38% : It should make clear that if the talks succeed and a realistic plan is formulated to neutralize the Hezbollah threat, Israel will be prepared to withdraw in stages from the territory it has captured.
37% : That mistrust is reflected in claims of abandonment and incompetence by large parts of the population that serve in the reserves and pay taxes.
24% : Israel is also failing to convince its allies that northern Israel cannot be secured as long as Hezbollah's main underground infrastructure, from which it is still firing, remains in southeastern Lebanon and in southern Nabatieh.
23% : Second, Israel should reach an understanding with Trump that he will demand Iran restrain Hezbollah with at least the same firmness with which he demands that Israel hold its fire in Lebanon.

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