The tour of American president Donald Trump in the Gulf States this week – in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates – was closely followed in Israel.
Trump has not visited Israel – a snobbone that Israeli officials played, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already visited the White House twice – and there was a growing meaning among Israeli commentators that something was not quite correct.
This comes at a time when Israel faces the growing criticisms and isolation of other nations during the war in Gaza.
“If you take the Last Month and certainly the Last Week, in A Series of Moves and A Series of Statements, Trump Not Only Complely Sidelined Netanyahu and Kept Him Out of the Loop, But Marginalized is Israel as if it was not an ally,” Train senior israeli Alon Pinkas, Now a Columnist For the Israeli Newspaper Haaretzsaid to DW.
Meanwhile, Israel has intensified its air strikes in Gaza, a possible indication that it extends its offensive to Gaza.
Friday, heavy strikes and tank movements were reported in the north of Gaza. According to local health authorities, at least 90 people were killed in strikes in Gaza, including many children. The Israeli army has issued more evacuation orders in several areas, forcing many people to flee in equally dangerous fields.
The unexpected recent release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, would have been the result of direct negotiations between the United States and Hamas and the mediators, was considered a sign that Netanyahu seemed to have been sidelined or, at best, was no longer the center of Trump’s attention, according to Israeli analysts. Alexander is a soldier who was captivated by his military post during terrorist attacks led by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023.
During the October 7 attack, more than 200 people were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip, Hamas Ruled. Fifty-eight hostages are still in Gaza. We think that at least 21 of them are alive.
In January, Hamas and Israel agreed from the first phase of a ceasefire, which saw 33 Israeli hostages released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. However, a second phase was never negotiated and, in March, Israel broke the ceasefire, promising to eradicate Hamas.
Did Trump and Netanyahu fall?
During his Gulf trip this week, Trump concluded a weapon agreement of $ 142 billion (127 billion euros) with Saudi Arabia as well as an investment agreement of $ 600 billion which increases the technological potential of the Gulf State, which could be considered a threat to the own technological and military prowess of Israel.
In April, Netanyahu was invited to an urgent meeting in Washington. Netanyahu said he thought he could convince Trump to withdraw American prices from Israeli imports, but he was unable to do so. Instead, Trump seemed to take Netanyahu by surprise when he announced that US-Iran’s direct discussions concerning Iran’s nuclear program.
This strongly contrasts with the first meeting of the two leaders in February in the United States, when Trump spoke to Netanyahu about his vision of a “Gaza Riviera” and the forced displacement of its population.
Another decision that provoked an agitation in Israel was Trump’s announcement on May 6 that the United States had reached a truce with the Houthi group in Yemen, just two days after the launch of the rebels of a missile at Israel’s main international airport, Ben Gurion. The Houthis have promised to continue launching missiles in Israel as long as the Gaza War continues.
The Israeli commentator Pinkas suggested that Trump does not like the “manipulations and the constant deception of Netanyahu on Iran and Gaza”.
Trump practices a very transactional policy, said Pinkas. “Netanyahu can only give him two things that he has refused to give so far: a cease-fire in Gaza, that Netanyahu violated in March-(perhaps) he misinterpreted the laziness or the disinterest of Trump as a kind of green light to attack again.
And the second is Iran, “Pinkas continued.” While Trump continues to say that he wants an agreement with Iran and that he will continue an agreement, Netanyahu continues with his belligerent rhetoric. “”
Others are more cautious and say that Trump seems to lay the foundations for regional changes.
“I hear voices in Israel saying that he completely sidelined Netanyahu, but I think it’s more complicated than that,” a former Israeli consul in local media told DW, told DW. “I think he (Trump) takes into account all these questions that are extremely important for Israel in terms of standardization, with the Syrians and with the Saudis.”
But Israel should have been more involved, Yaki said. “We could have been in the central position, to shape the new Middle East, as Trump does now,” said Dayan. But, he adds: “I think that one of the things that Trump wanted from Israel is to finish war in Gaza, that Netanyahu does not give him.”
It is unlikely that Netanyahu will do one or the other of these things, said Pinkas. “If he does not have these two questions, then A, he has no (governess) coalition, and B, he has no reason to be Prime Minister.”
What does this mean for the region?
Many will now depend on the next developments in Gaza. A new cycle of negotiations in Qatar to finalize a new agreement between Israel and Hamas seems to surge.
Meanwhile, Israel has increased its military offensive and Netanyahu has repeatedly promised not to end the war, which is a key demand from Hamas. The Israeli cabinet recently approved a plan to occupy large expanses of Gaza and force the Palestinian population already moved to move south, which could be considered a war crime under international law.
And while Israel has approved a new humanitarian aid plan, although controversial proposed by the United States, it has not lifted the devastating blockage of Gaza. Since March, the inhabitants of the small territory have been denied food, drugs, refuge and fuel, with devastating consequences. Earlier this week, international food security experts warned that Gaza was at high risk of famine in the coming weeks.
During his visit to Qatar, Trump said: “I have concepts for Gaza who, I think, are very good. Make a freedom of freedom, let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom of freedom.”
The conflict in Gaza prevents Trump from his long -standing ambition, a large plan to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia and to extend the Abraham agreements, a series of bilateral agreements between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel mediated by the first Trump administration.
However, despite the concerns about the Trump-Netanyahu relationship, there is currently no indication that the United States will pressure Israel to stop the military offensive if these last discussions fail.
“The war really disturbs Trump. But at the end of the day, if they do not reach an agreement, then no one would prevent Netanyahu from expanding the war. The Americans will not do it,” said Dayan.
And Trump himself said that developments in the region are “good for Israel”.
“There are a lot of things that should worry us – huge military agreements with the Saudis and the Iranian problem,” said Dayan. “But at the same time, when Trump now reshapes the Middle East, it is preferable to Israel that he reshapes the Middle East and not for the Chinese or the Russians or someone else.”
Published by: Cathrin Schaer and Rob Mudge
