Feeling the Strain

What cracks in the relationship between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu could mean for U.S. support of Israel

- TOM O'CONNOR

EVEN BEFORE DONALD TRUMP'S VISIT TO THE Middle East, the first international trip of his second administration, signs of disagreement had emerged between the U.S. president and one of the men who most enthusiastically welcomed his return to office. Trump's decision to skip Israel on his tour of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates comes as he appeared to sideline Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on several key issues related to the regional conflict that has emerged over the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

Now, “the profound extent of their schism” has been laid bare by the White House's nuclear diplomacy with Iran, direct talks with the Palestinian Hamas movement and Yemeni Ansar Allah—also known as the Houthis—and heightened tariffs against Israel, according to Shalom Lipner, former adviser to seven consecutive Israeli premiers, including Netanyahu.

“Trump and Netanyahu are exasperated with each other—each feeling that their concerns and objectives are under-appreciated by the other,” Lipner, now senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, told Newsweek. “Both of them have legitimate arguments to make, but they seem to be talking past each other.”

For Trump, a president who often boasts about “holding the cards” in high-stakes negotiations—most famously during a heated encounter with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House in late February—Lipner felt the U.S. leader once again appears to have the necessary leverage to get his way.

“The nature of that bilateral relationship—with Israel still reliant upon the military, diplomatic and economic assistance of the United States—is such that the prime minister will have little alternative but to fall in line,” Lipner said.

Measuring the Distance