Trump increases Netanyahu’s shoulders during the gulf tour

When President Trump shakes the new leader of Syria and promised to raise sanctions on his country at the Saudi Royal Palace this week, it was a living demonstration of the way in which the diplomacy of the President of the Middle East almost sidelined Israel.

“Tough guys, a very strong past,” said Trump about President Ahmed Al-Shara, who once had links with Al-Qaeda. Trump said he ended the sanctions, many of whom had been imposed on the previous government of Syria, “to give them a chance of greatness”.

In doing so, Mr. Trump effectively had the opinions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government calls Mr. Al-Shara a “jihadist”. The Israeli army has bombed Syria hundreds of times since December, when the rebels led by Mr. Al-Shara have ousted President Bashar al-Assad from power.

In recent decades, under the American presidents of both parties, Israel has largely enjoyed a special place at the center of American foreign policy in the region. Mr. Netanyahu, who has been in power for a large part of the last two decades, has always been an essential player in the debate of the Middle East, even if he has sometimes rendered his American counterparts.

Nothing indicates that the United States abandons its historical ties with Israel, or will stop its military and economic support in the country. During his flight on Air Force One from Riyadh to Doha, Trump rejected concerns about the Israel touch.

“Not at all,” he told journalists. “It’s good for Israel, having a relationship as I have with these countries, the countries of the Middle East, essentially all.”