Trump says Netanyahu could use 'softer touch' in Lebanon

AL-MONITOR
Jun 17, 2026
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a press conference after meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 29, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a press conference after meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 29, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo — Jonathan Ernst

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France, June 17 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could use a "softer touch" in Lebanon in comments made at the close of a G7 summit in France.

Netanyahu and Trump have repeatedly clashed over Israel's refusal to constrain its pursuit of Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, where a cessation of hostilities is a key Iranian demand.

"Netanyahu happens to be a good man, gets a little excited sometimes," Trump told reporters on Wednesday.

"We have a little dispute over Lebanon. I say you can do a little softer touch, Bibi. You don't have to knock down a building every time somebody walks into it that's from Hezbollah."

Trump added that he agreed with the description of Israel as being "the very small partner" of the United States.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; writing by Costas Pitas; editing by Michelle Nichols)