“war on terror” would reshape Washington’s foreign policy and bolster Israel’s strategic positioning against Palestinians, according to historical reporting and eyewitness accounts.
Netanyahu’s Initial Reaction to the September 11 Attacks
Netanyahu initially replied, “It’s very good,” before immediately editing his comment to say, “Well, not very good, but it will generate immediate sympathy,” and adding that the attacks would “strengthen the bond between our two peoples.”
That immediate assessment underscored a broader strategic calculation among Israeli leadership. Palestinian American commentators looking back at the quarter-century since the attacks note that the tragedy transformed the geopolitical landscape, framing Israel and the United States on the same side of a new global divide defined by counterterrorism rather than Cold War politics.
Shifting Geopolitical Paradigms from the Cold War to the War on Terror
Before September 11, the post-Cold War era presented diplomatic complications for U.S.-Israeli relations. Throughout the Cold War, Israel successfully marketed itself to American policymakers as a like-minded, democratic ally confronting Soviet-backed states in the Middle East. However, with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of apartheid in South Africa during the 1990s, Israel’s ongoing repression during the first Palestinian Intifada made it a less comfortable fit within the emerging international order.
During that pre-9/11 decade, the United States invested heavily in Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking efforts and applied diplomatic leverage to curb Israeli settlement expansion. The September 11 attacks and the outbreak of the second Palestinian Intifada dismantled that pressure.
Long-Term Impacts on US-Israel Ties
In the decades following the 2001 attacks, the securitized framework of the “war on terror” cemented deeper institutional ties between Washington and Jerusalem.
- Enhanced intelligence collaboration between U.S. and Israeli security agencies.
- Consistently growing U.S. financial and military support for Israel.
- Aligned legislative initiatives in the U.S. Congress supporting Israeli security policies.
By leveraging an American public and political establishment fixated on counterterrorism, Israeli leaders successfully reframed their ongoing conflict with Palestinians as a shared front in a global security struggle, permanently altering the diplomatic dynamics of the Middle East.
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