Why is Jonathan Conricus chiding Netanyahu, blaming Egypt, and hailing Lebanon deal? - interview

Jonathan Conricus, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former IDF international spokesman, analyzes the Middle East not as one monolithic crisis but as a series of distinct collisions. He identifies a developing peace process between Israel and Lebanon as the most significant weekend development, calling it "the big news of the weekend."

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the Middle East as a series of collisions rather than a single crisis.

Conricus sees this Lebanon track as offering "a glimmer of hope that maybe the future will be different" from the nearly three years of conflict Israel has endured. He notes that this development cuts against typical regional alignments and highlights a fundamental divide: those committed to sovereignty, democracy, and peace should welcome such a roadmap, while those aligned with Iran and Hezbollah might resist it.

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Calling the Lebanon track “the big news of the weekend,” Conricus said it gave him “a glimmer of hope that maybe the future will be different” from the near-constant war Israel has faced over the last almost three years.

He dismisses criticism from Israeli hard-liners like National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir as politically motivated and lacking authority over the issue. Conricus emphasizes the practical framework: a continued Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon until conditions allow withdrawal, coupled with a phased handover to the Lebanese Armed Forces. These forces would take responsibility in areas beyond the "yellow line" and dismantle remaining Hezbollah capabilities.

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it is “very interesting to see, very telling to see, who is for a peace deal between two sovereign states and who’s against it.”

Describing this as a "pilot program," Conricus believes it's a chance for peace between two sovereign states that is "definitely worth taking calculated risks in order to do so." He stresses that this is not an immediate peace but a tentative one, contingent on the weakening of Hezbollah, which he notes was significantly more powerful before recent events, including the elimination of Hassan Nasrallah.

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an outlier