To be prime minister of Israel is an enormously stressful job. And it is made all the more so due to the fact that Israel’s chief ally, the United States, applies constant pressure to the Jewish state, either in service to its own national interests or to bolster the political standing of those in the White House.

At the same time, the Israeli electorate is not only hopelessly divided (making it utterly impossible to please everyone), it is also incredibly vocal to a degree not seen in most Western democracies (attribute this to Israeli chutzpah).

So when it comes to a matter of great importance to Israel, who will Israel’s leaders heed? The vocal and demanding local electorate? Or the man sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office?

This tug-of-war is being played out right now over the rules of engagement that govern the behavior of Israeli soldiers and police officers.

A number of soldiers and police officers have been killed this year in incidents that many say could have been prevented if our men and women in uniform had greater freedom to use deadly force.

In other words, had they felt more free to open fire on their attackers, they’d probably still be alive.

The Israeli public by-and-large wants IDF soldiers and Israel Police officers to operate under more permissive open-fire rules.

US President Joe Biden wants the opposite.

Earlier this week, an internal IDF investigation concluded that an Israeli soldier had likely inadvertently killed Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh during a gun battle in Jenin in May. Abu Akleh had been embedded with Islamic Jihad terrorists.

See: Abu Akleh and Biden’s Pro-Iran Realignment

The Biden administration was swift to respond through State Department Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel:

“We will continue to press our Israeli partners to closely review its policies and practices on rules of engagement and consider additional steps to mitigate the risk of civilian harm, protect journalists and prevent similar tragedies in the future.”

Israel has essentially taken responsibility for Abu Akleh’s unintentional killing. But Washington wants more. It won’t say so publicly, but no doubt the Americans want to see whichever soldier fired the fatal bullet dismissed from service and prosecuted. That would score the US major diplomatic points with the Palestinians and broader Arab world.

But if that is what Biden wants, Prime Minister Yair Lapid said he could forget about it.

Said the Israeli leader during a graduation ceremony for new Navy officers in Haifa:

“I will not allow an IDF soldier that was protecting himself from terrorist fire to be prosecuted just to receive applause from abroad.”

What’s more, the interim prime minister indicated he is heeding the Israeli public over the White House when it comes to Israel’s open-fire rules for soldiers and police officers:

“No one will dictate our rules of engagement to us, when we are the ones fighting for our lives. Our soldiers have the full backing of the government of Israel and the people of Israel.”

How much of this is due to the fact that Israelis go to the polls on November 1, and Lapid wants to remain prime minister? Time will tell. Israel has in response to overwhelming international outcry prosecuted IDF soldiers who in the past pushed the rules of engagement.

Don’t expect America to stop levering its goodwill to shape Israeli policy. But do expect a growing number of Israelis to no longer care what Washington thinks, and to increasingly demand that their leaders act first and foremost for Israeli interests.

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett expressed what many Israelis think on the matter in his speech at the naval ceremony:

“Our hand is not light on the trigger, but the moral order is to hit terrorists and thus save human lives. As prime minister, I gave full backing to our fighters, and I expect our friends in the world not to preach morality to us, but to back us in our war on terror.” (Emphasis added.)