Benjamin Netanyahu and Joe Biden are on a collision course

Benjamin Netanyahu is set on a path which brooks no deviation. He wants victory against Hamas, victory against Hezbollah and, ultimately, victory against Iran.

Over the year since the 7 October massacre, Netanyahu has played the diplomatic game with the United States: receiving constant visits from American officials from the State Department and Pentagon, listening to entreaties by President Biden for limited military action and appeals to protect civilians, and making encouraging noises about ceasefires.

However, all along, the Israeli leader has been relentless in focusing, and then expanding on, his principal objectives. He wants revenge for 7 October and to create a new security environment in which Israel’s enemies would be destroyed or damaged beyond repair. Indeed, as the war with Hamas and then Hezbollah continued aggressively, despite daily pleas from Washington to avoid escalation, Netanyahu became more confident both in his actions and words.