Netanyahu’s gift to Joe Biden

It started with Mr. Netanyahu’s sending ground forces into Gaza to defeat Hamas, which carried out the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel. Later he sent the Israel Defense Forces into Rafah, on the border with Egypt—the key to Hamas’s weapons supply. He then pivoted to Hezbollah in Lebanon, which had started shooting at Israel on Oct. 8. Along the way Israel killed terrorist leaders in Tehran, Damascus and Beirut. Most recently, Israel has been fighting the Houthis, another Iranian proxy that operates from Yemen and has also been battling the U.S. Navy.

Mr. Biden opposed almost all these actions. Even so, he benefits from the Middle East that is beginning to emerge from Mr. Netanyahu’s decisions. Hamas has been devastated. So has Hezbollah. The Assad regime in Syria is no more, with the Israelis destroying most of Syria’s strategic-weapons stockpiles lest they fall into the hands of radical jihadists linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

We know Mr. Biden understands the gift that was handed to him—because he’s now trying to take credit for it. He’s doing so even though Mr. Netanyahu’s victories would never have come had he heeded Mr. Biden’s advice.

“Netanyahu became a figure of hate for the left everywhere," says Elliott Abrams, who served as President Trump’s special representative for Iran. “Partly this was for being on the right and never apologizing for it, and partly for being a tough nationalist when the left here and in Europe had decided nationalism was passé, even evil.

“But it was also partly for demonstrating that, yes, there are military solutions and not everything can be solved or best solved by our Blinkens at a negotiating table."

For Israel there was a price: accusations of genocide. Urban warfare is ugly. When innocents are killed it’s heart-rending. But just-war theory holds that a force that hides behind protected institutions such as hospitals and schools bears the moral blame for turning them into military targets. Almost no one lecturing the Israelis has explained how you defeat terrorists who, as part of their war strategy, callously use civilians as human shields.

Yet Mr. Netanyahu’s strategy of destroying the Iranian proxies making war on Israel has gone a long way toward defanging Iran. Yes, Iran launched missiles at Israel, but the attack looked almost halfhearted. Israel’s retaliation left Iran’s air defenses in tatters.

All this happened because Mr. Netanyahu was willing to do what he thought Israel needed to do. He acted in defiance of the received wisdom of the diplomatic community, the international campaign to declare Israel guilty of war crimes, and most of the recommendations from the Biden White House.

Some on Team Biden now admit the obvious. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the New York Times: “Whenever there has been public daylight between the United States and Israel, and the perception that pressure was growing on Israel, we’ve seen it: Hamas has pulled back from agreeing to a cease-fire and the release of hostages."

The result of Mr. Netanyahu’s war policy is a Middle East that is much more hopeful on Mr. Biden’s way out than it was on his way in. The weakening of Iran, the crippling of Hamas and Hezbollah, and Iran’s loss of its client state in Syria have upset the status quo for the better.

So what happens now? Come Jan. 20, President Biden will be out. Going forward, the Iranians and Israelis will have to deal with Mr. Trump.

The outstanding issue remains Iran’s nuclear-weapons ambitions. The Iranians have talked about how soon they could have a bomb, and if they get one it would certainly limit what the world can do in response to Tehran’s aggressions. With or without talks, the Iranians have every incentive to double down on that bet. The irony is that Mr. Netanyahu’s military success has also removed the main reason not to go after Tehran’s nuclear program: the fear of escalation and the difficulty of the operation. Iran now lacks air defenses to stop an attack and the conventional or proxy forces to respond effectively.

The further irony is that if Mr. Trump succeeds in the Middle East, Mr. Biden will continue to take credit. It won’t be as hard as it might appear, because he has spoken from both sides of his mouth. Shortly after the Oct. 7 attacks, Mr. Biden traveled to Israel and delivered a strong speech on support for the Jewish state as it defended itself. He then spent much of the rest of his presidency criticizing Israel every time it did.

Whatever Messrs. Trump and Netanyahu choose, they will know they’ve hit on the right policy when Mr. Biden again takes credit for it.

Write to mcgurn@wsj.com.