On Sept. 10, 2026, Clinton told Morning Joe the United States should take a “very tough position” toward Israel if Benjamin Netanyahu wins again.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Sept. 10, 2026, that the United States should adopt a “very tough position” toward Israel if voters reelect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and said Washington could work more constructively with a different Israeli government.
Clinton framed her remarks around recent reporting that has stirred debate about Israel’s preparedness for the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. She said the question of who leads Israel and the composition of any governing coalition matter for U.S. policy, and emphasized that holding leaders to account would be part of a strategy of “tough love,” not abandonment.
The comments come after a Haaretz-based report, summarized by several international outlets, that said United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed warned Mr. Netanyahu in late September 2023 about a possible large-scale operation by Hamas — a warning that, the report alleges, was not passed on to some Israeli security chiefs. Authors of the reporting say their findings are drawn from research for a new book. Those accounts have not been confirmed by an independent inquiry made public to date.
Mr. Netanyahu’s office has publicly rejected the Haaretz account and, according to reporting, said it would pursue legal action against the newspaper and the reporters; his team said official logs show no such call and called the report fabricated. The Israeli government has also pointed to internal reviews that, it says, do not support the article’s claims. Those denials are part of an unfolding dispute between media reporting and official statements.
U.S. and international coverage of the Haaretz report has prompted renewed debate in Washington about how strongly to criticize Israeli policy should Mr. Netanyahu remain in power. Clinton’s comments place her among a number of U.S. figures who say the U.S.-Israel relationship may require pressure if policies they view as harmful to Palestinian civilians or to regional stability continue. Analysts note, however, that calls for tougher positions carry domestic political risks and legal and diplomatic limits.
Clinton’s remarks also invoked long-standing tensions in U.S. politics over how to balance support for Israel with concerns about human rights and rule-of-law issues. She said she loves Israel but strongly opposes the current government’s policies — language that underscores a familiar bipartisan divide over the terms and limits of American backing. Commentators and lawmakers from both parties reacted quickly on social and traditional media, with responses ranging from support for tougher U.S. measures to warnings that such a shift could harm security cooperation.
For now, major factual elements at the center of the dispute remain contested: the Haaretz account, the book on which it draws, and the official Israeli denials have produced competing narratives. Several outlets reporting the Haaretz story cite authors and unnamed senior sources; Israeli officials cite phone logs and internal reviews in denial. Independent verification of the private conversations described in the reporting has not been made public. Readers should treat the competing claims as allegations and denials, and note that legal and journalistic processes around the reporting are still active.
Why this matters
U.S. policy toward Israel is a core element of American foreign relations in the Middle East. If the United States were to change the tenor of its bilateral approach in response to an Israeli election outcome, it could affect military cooperation, intelligence sharing, diplomatic initiatives and international efforts to protect civilians and pursue hostage negotiations. Those are complex, high-stakes choices for any administration and for Congress.
Sources: Jewish Insider, Sept. 10, 2026; The Nation, Sept. 11, 2026; The Guardian summary of Haaretz reporting, Sept. 8, 2026.
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Sources
- https://jewishinsider.com/2026/09/hillary-clinton-us-position-israel-netanyahu-palestinians-peace/
- https://www.thenation.com/article/world/netanyahu-haaretz-report-october-7/
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