The security field is by its nature rigid. Changes are usually made slowly, over the course of years, and sometimes out of necessity rather than desire. When it comes to this, the Bennett government is no different than its predecessors – it was more of the same in nearly every area, with one major difference – it projected a much better atmosphere at home, in the region, and beyond, than some of the previous governments.
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This was notable primarily in its relations with Washington when it came to Iran and the nuclear deal. Jerusalem's policy was to oppose any new deal, but it did so behind closed doors while avoiding going head-to-head with the administration, which wanted and aimed for the deal (and has thus far failed). The Bennett government realized that a conflict with US President Joe Biden and his top advisors might score it some PR points in Israel, but would not serve the country. It opted instead, rightly, to try and exert influence from inside. The fact that thus far, no nuclear deal has been reached – in part to Israeli pressure that persuaded the Americans not to drop the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps from its list of international terrorist sponsors – is to a large extent the result of that policy.
In his visit to Israel next month, Biden will discuss the strategic alliance with Israel and the need to strengthen it, both bilaterally and regionally. Cynics will claim that he wants to held Bennett and Lapid in the upcoming election, but that's nonsense – the Americans were busy working on this long before the election was even on the horizon. They want to preserve Israel's qualitative edge and the power of their allies to stand up to negative forces in the region, primarily Iran and the influence of Russia and China.
So the administration is leading an effort to bolster regional cooperation, mainly in the field of missile and drone defenses. That includes participation by countries that aren't formally signatories to the Abraham Accords, most notably Saudi Arabia, and to a less extent Qatar.
The US isn't the only country with which the outgoing government was able to disagree without wrecking ties. Another example is Jordan. Bennett, Lapid, and Benny Gantz – as well as President Isaac Herzog and the heads of the Mossad and the Shin Bet security agency – worked daily to keep ties with Jordan, which are critical to Israel's security, in place. This allowed Israeli-Jordanian relations to make it through the month of Ramadan and the wave of terrorism that went along with it and reduce friction on the Temple Mount.
Cynicism and ignorance are rife when it comes to Israel's policies on Jordan, too. True, Jordan is more than a little dependent on Israel, especially when it comes to intelligence and energy. But Israel is plenty dependent on its neighbor to the east, which for years as ensured that Israel's longest border remains its quietest, and helped in many other ways, as well. Anyone who is hoping to see King Abdullah fall is playing with fire – he would be replaced by radical, much more dangerous, actors who would bring Iran and its satellites to Jordan.
The outgoing government has also tried to maintain as functional relations as possible with the Palestinian Authority, not out of any love for PA President Mahmoud Abbas, but because it understood the reality. According to experts, Judea and Samaria are about to boil over, mostly for socioeconomic reasons rather than political or religious ones. But the reason won't matter – Israel will bear the fallout.
Other zones have seen less dramatic change this past year. The Gaza Strip was very quiet, but that was mainly the result of Operation Guardian of the Walls [in May 2021] and Hamas' need to rebuild, as well as the wise decision to increase the number of Gazan laborers permitted to work in Israel. There have been no major changes in Syria, either, with strikes continuing, although one recent action, in which large parts of the civilian airport in Damascus were destroyed, could potentially cause the Syrians to change their position on Iran.
Israel kept to the same line when it comes to Iran itself – sabotage and strikes of various types, according to foreign reports. Anyone who claims that Israel promised the Americans not to act in Iran is wrong or lying.
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