When he served as prime minister for the Likud, Ariel Sharon was often pressured by his own party to reject US demands to rein in construction in the settlements and move forward in the negotiations with the Palestinians. Yet Sharon knew exactly how to derive political and diplomatic advantage from this pressure. The angrier people were at him, the better excuse he had for the White House as to why his hands were tied in his dealings with the Palestinians. Washington would then turn a blind eye to any continued construction in the West Bank.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also has taken advantage of this dynamic ever since returning to power in 2009. Whenever the Obama administration applied pressure on him, he cited his political constraints at home to show that he had limited space to maneuver politically. The more extreme the Likud Party grew, the more he could use this as an excuse. This benefited Netanyahu in another way, too. It allowed him to present himself before Likud supporters as the one person standing up to the pressures of a hostile US administration. His troubled relationship with President Barack Obama, which only deteriorated over the years, helped Netanyahu considerably in all of his recent election campaigns and whenever he found himself entangled in some political crisis.

Paradoxically, it is the Trump administration that presents Netanyahu with an unusually complex political and diplomatic challenge. Ostensibly, Netanyahu was just given the “president of his dreams” on a platter. He could now fulfill all the deepest desires of the Israeli right. But since the Trump inauguration Jan. 20, Netanyahu has instead found himself trying to ward off a barrage of pressure from the right. Spearheading that campaign is Netanyahu rival Naftali Bennett, the education minister who claims that the new US administration offers Israel a historic opportunity to annex the settlements.

Suddenly, Netanyahu found himself in a position that he is not used to, one that could cause him serious harm among his power base on the right. He must now be the voice of moderation in his government and block any initiatives proposed by its more right-wing members. Netanyahu is well aware that HaBayit HaYehudi leader Bennett is scoring political points at the prime minister's expense, but nonetheless, his hands are tied. He cannot burn all his bridges with the international community. Furthermore, Trump is unpredictable, and Netanyahu does not know what his policy will be. For instance, will he really move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, or will he renege on his promise?