When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump met at the White House in early July for the third time this year, the two men were all smiles. Trump heaped praise on the Israeli premier (and himself) for a job well done on Iran, insisting yet again that the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes against Tehran’s nuclear facilities left its program “obliterated.” Netanyahu thanked Washington for its extensive support and gifted him a letter that nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
But things have changed in the three weeks since. And while the relationship between Trump and Netanyahu isn’t at a breaking point, the two appear to hold aspirations for the Middle East that are increasingly hard to square with each other.
The 21-month war in Gaza is, of course, the most dominant issue affecting the partnership. Trump ostensibly wants to get it solved. He’s tired of the killing and the bad press, has been pining about brokering an agreement between Israel and Hamas even before he won the election in November and increasingly sees the conflict as a morass. “A lot of hate, long-term hate,” Trump told reporters during his confab with Netanyahu on July 7, “but we think we’re going to have it solved pretty soon, hopefully with a real solution, a solution that’s going to be holding up.”
Yet in the weeks since Trump made those comments, the possibility of a ceasefire and hostage release deal has moved only a few inches toward the finish line. The three big issues preventing Israel and Hamas from signing a deal—whether a 60-day truce will lead to a permanent end to the war, how extensive the Israeli military withdrawal in Gaza will be during that pause and how humanitarian aid will be distributed to Palestinians—remain unsolved. While the Israelis have reportedly agreed to move troops farther away from key corridors, some question if Israeli diplomats shuttling to Qatar and Egypt for talks actually have the mandate to negotiate.
Author
Events on Israel-Iran
