'Diplomatic emergency': Bennett presents plan for restoring Israel's position in US, Middle East

Naftali Bennett says Israel faces a “diplomatic emergency” and needs a government prepared to rebuild its standing abroad. Presenting his foreign-policy platform ahead of the election, the former prime minister placed public support in the United States, stronger ties with Washington and a renewed regional role at the center of his plan.

“We have an organized plan of action to restore Israel's standing among US citizens,” Bennett said. He praised President Donald Trump as “the most supportive president we could have asked for,” but argued that Israel’s current government had not provided him with a partner capable of delivering diplomatic gains.

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We have an organized plan of action to restore Israel's standing among US citizens.

Bennett said that three years after October 7, the Israel Defense Forces was winning on the battlefield but that victory had not been achieved. He claimed decisions about Israel’s future were being made outside Jerusalem, saying “foreign leaders are making decisions about our future, hostile countries are shaping our borders.” If he forms the next government, he said, he would formally declare a diplomatic emergency and begin a campaign to restore Israel’s position.

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President Trump is the most supportive president we could have asked for, but currently he has no partner on the Israeli side for achieving diplomatic victories. In our government, he will have a partner for achievements, not a politician who puts obstacles in his way.

On Iran, Bennett pledged to revive what he previously called the “octopus strategy,” under which Israel directly pressures Iran rather than focusing only on the country’s regional proxies. He also promised to renew a plan to weaken the Iranian regime that he said he initiated as prime minister and that the current government halted.

Bennett said his government would complete Hamas’s disarmament in Gaza. He argued that Qatar and Turkey should leave the regional framework because they “want what is best for Hamas,” with Egypt and other countries interested in disarming the group taking their place.

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Three years after October 7, the IDF is winning on the battlefield, but victory has not been achieved.

On Israel’s northern front, he proposed combining economic and diplomatic pressure on Hezbollah with continued Israeli control of the security zone for as long as the organization remains armed. “We will complete the mission in Gaza in which the outgoing government failed and bring about the dismantling of Hamas,” Bennett declared.

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We will continue the octopus strategy of exacting a direct price from Iran, and we will renew the plan to weaken the regime, which I initiated as prime minister and which was halted under the current government.