Israel is having a bad week, and it seems that this does not bother the US president. As a true former reality star, Donald Trump has outlined different plots to send a single message: He will do whatever he thinks will contribute to his own glory, even if it means putting Benjamin Netanyahu on ice.
It is no coincidence that Hamas, the terrorist organization that Israel has been pounding in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, freed its last living hostage carrying a U.S. passport, just as Trump was departing for the Middle East on a tour that includes three Arab countries but ostentatiously omits Israel. In March, his government had rejected a similar offer from Hamas, giving in to Israel's fear that it would be cut off from the negotiations and that it would put other hostages believed to be still alive at a disadvantage. This time, the U.S. was not interested.
Something similar happened last week, when Trump unexpectedly announced that the U.S. would stop bombing the Houthis in Yemen. "We hit them very hard," the president said. "They gave us their word that they would not hit any more ships, and we honour that." He did not say that the Houthis had just fired missiles at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv and that he had not previously consulted the Israeli prime minister.
Trump also surprised Netanyahu on the Iranian front and in dealing with Tehran. Bibi insists on the complete dismantling of Iran's nuclear activities and wants to bomb its centrifugal and other facilities — with the help of the U.S. Trump wants to avoid war and be glorified as a "peacemaker" (ideally with a Nobel Prize). "I want to make a deal with Iran," Trump repeated on Tuesday, much to Netanyahu's frustration. "If I can make a deal with Iran, I'll be very happy."
Even in Syria, the Trump and Netanyahu governments may disagree. Israel is bombing military targets in the country, even as Damascus struggles to build a viable state after the tyranny of Bashar al-Assad. Trump, however, planned to meet with Syria's new and controversial leader, Ahmed al-Saraa, in Saudi Arabia this week and said he would lift U.S. sanctions against the state.
Then there is the agenda of Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He still takes immense pride in the mediation of the Abraham Accords, when many Muslim countries, including the Emirates, normalized their relations with Israel. His successor and predecessor, Joe Biden, tried at the time, but failed, to reach a similar deal with Saudi Arabia, offering Riyadh security guarantees and civilian nuclear technology in exchange for Saudi recognition of Israel. There is no such strategy this time.
To satisfy Trump, these monarchies instead build new Trump towers, bring golf tournaments to their courses, and do business with his family and crypto businesses. They will also announce huge investments in the US. Qatar's royals even offered to donate an unusually luxurious Boeing 747-8, which Trump can convert into Air Force One and later take to his presidential library.
They clearly know how to flatter him. In return, Trump can still offer the Saudis this civilian nuclear technology – simply without Israel's mutual recognition. Trump has understood that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman could not embrace Israel even if he wanted to. After all, Netanyahu's right-wing government is torturing the Arab brothers of the Saudis in Palestine, with plans to annex the West Bank and permanently occupy Gaza, razing its remaining buildings and relocating its two million inhabitants. The United Nations warns that one in five Gazans is at risk of starvation.
Trump hasn't said much about this unfolding disaster. He may think he can't stop Netanyahu anyway, and he doesn't want to be associated with it. If so, this is another sign that Trump, unlike Biden, is not a true friend of Israel.
Biden's stance was shaped by his talks with Israeli leaders since the Golden Meir era. He had a vision that Israel would one day live peacefully next to a sovereign Palestine. He understood that Israel under Netanyahu was in danger of becoming an international pariah that was gradually losing its democratic soul. So, he continued to push Bibi, in vain, to change course. For this effort, Republicans attacked Biden, saying he was not pro-Israel enough.
Trump, on the other hand, pretends to be a Zionist when it suits him and costs him nothing, with performative gestures such as moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem in his first term. He has never renounced the two-state solution (which has been U.S. policy for decades) — nor has he done much to bring it closer. Instead, he recently surprised Netanyahu when he visited him, announcing that the U.S. would "acquire" Gaza and turn it into a "Middle Eastern Riviera." Now that Netanyahu plans to occupy the lane, Trump seems to have abandoned the idea.
There are two intersections here, one personal and one historical. A personal rift is between two men who are too similar to each other to create a lasting relationship. Trump and Netanyahu are selfish and self-centered leaders who callously confuse their own fate (including their prospects of staying out of the courtroom) with that of their countries.
The historical rift consists in the fact that the U.S. is letting an old and close friend, Israel, become increasingly isolated from the world. For decades, Israel's national interest was intertwined with the American one. Now they diverge. Biden should have broken with Bibi to save Zionism, but he didn't have the courage. Trump does disapprove of Netanyahu, but not for Israel's sake. He does it for himself.
BloombergOpinion
