BRAZIL PERSPECTIVE

Brasilia, July 6, 2026. Brazilian media consulted focus primarily on two aspects of Netanyahu news, both relayed through American interviews rather than through correspondents on the ground. The first concerns Lebanon: in an interview granted to Fox News, picked up by Estadao, the Israeli Prime Minister claims that 'certain Christian villages in Lebanon have asked to be annexed by Israel, because we protect them from Hezbollah, from Hezbollah fanatics who want to kill them'. Netanyahu adds that he is 'doing the same thing with Christians everywhere in the world'. The article recalls that Israel has occupied a strip of southern Lebanon since March 2, the date when Hezbollah fired missiles at Israeli territory to avenge the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei; Israel then responded with intense aerial bombardments and a ground offensive.

The second aspect, treated by Jornal de Brasilia, concerns the Netanyahu-Trump relationship. According to the American president, cited by Axios, the Israeli Prime Minister is said to have requested a meeting at the White House, possibly feasible as early as the week following Trump's return from the NATO summit. 'We get along very well. (Netanyahu) knows who is the boss', Trump reportedly said. Netanyahu's office confirms a telephone call on July 3 to congratulate Trump on the 250th anniversary of American independence, during which the two leaders agreed to meet again soon on American soil. However, an Israeli government source urges caution: Trump's international schedule could push the meeting back by an additional week.

This would be the first meeting between the two men since February, when Netanyahu had presented Trump with a joint military action plan against Iran. Since then, the relationship is said to have experienced tensions related to divergences over conduct of Middle East policy: Trump signed an executive order last month extending the ceasefire with Iran and relaunching negotiations on Iranian nuclear issues, while also pressing Israel to limit its military operations in Lebanon, seen as an obstacle to talks with Tehran.