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There is angst in Israel after President Trump and the U.S. State Department, through the nation of Oman, secured a ceasefire with the Houthis in Yemen concerning shipping in the Red Sea. This resulted from months of American bombing of Houthi targets in-country.
So, Trump got a big win in foreign policy.
However, his comment when asked about attacks on Israel by Yemen continuing saying, “I will be fine if that happens,” during an Oval Office news conference with reporters, caused alarm in The Jewish State.
Trump also said he would not visit Israel during his upcoming trip to the Middle East.
These remarks came after National Security Advisor Waltz was said to have been removed for side conversations away from the President with Israeli PM Netanyahu, possibly angering POTUS. Waltz is reported to have been sending screenshots of sensitive conversations among Team Trump to Israeli intelligence. This is not confirmed.
The Trump reaction also comes after the Israeli lobby pushed a bill in Congress levying large fines and prison time against Americans who spoke out against Israel. This bill was tabled in the legislature but caused outrage on both sides of the political aisle.
Sentiment against the Israeli lobby has been building in the United States.
However, many believe the developments are just classic Trump art of the deal.
One commetary on X wrote:
After Trump’s announcement last night, there are two options.
The one where Trump surrendered to the Houthis and the Iranians, abandoned Israel and “threw it under the bus,” as some commentators are quick to celebrate in defiance.
The second is that he uses his negotiation methods that include chaos and uncertainty specifically against the Iranians and the Houthis with the aim of achieving achievements and successes with the Saudis and Qataris next week.
I believe that the second option is the correct one.
– Trump with his eyes on the ball – to win the trade war with China.
– In his opinion, the path there goes through separating Russia and Iran from the alliance with China, while at the same time strengthening the India-Saudi Arabia-Gulf alliance.
– He is arriving next week to close a deal with Saudi Arabia, which has been demanding a defense alliance from the US for years (both against the Houthis and against Iran).
– If he puts their minds at ease, Trump will return with a fat check of at least $500 billion in Saudi investments that will drive the American economy despite the tariff war.
– Next week he wants to “settle a deal” on expanding the Abraham Accords with Saudi Arabia and perhaps Qatar as well, and is trying to please them.
This is his mission for the next two weeks and the rest (Ukraine and Israel) will wait.
But, all of this is not at the expense of the alliance with Israel.
– Israel needed a lot of armaments from the US and a free hand in Gaza and Syria, and it received both generously.
– Israel announced that it will fight and defend itself against any enemy that tries to harm it – the Houthis, Hamas and Iran – the US is not stopping us – the last time we acted today at noon.
Trump is creating a “space of denial” both internally and internationally, claiming that Israel is independent in conducting its wars and defending itself, and that the US is not conducting our wars. But he will provide support in the event that we are attacked, even if it is after we attack Iran.
The big unknown is what will happen with Iran?
On the face of it, the American minimum does not come close to the Iranian maximum in concessions, and the gaps are large. It also does not appear that Trump – the “manly man” – will suddenly bow down to Khamenei, who only six months ago sent an assassin to kill him. If there is an agreement, the Iranians will fold.
And in the meantime, in a (real) attempt to reach an agreement, the parties agreed not to discuss stopping the production of ballistic missiles, but miraculously their production chain was hit this week by a series of mysterious explosions.
So even if the US does not ultimately send B52 bombers with bunker-busting bombs to the centrifuges deep underground – but instead takes out the enriched material in the agreement, Israel can still bomb the rest of the nuclear program’s facilities. And it doesn’t seem that after Trump gets what he wants from Saudi Arabia, he will shed a tear over such an attack.
Not to mention that Trump’s US will stand by to defend Israel from a counterattack – at least like the Biden administration.
In short, I wouldn’t rush to eulogize the honeymoon between Trump and Netanyahu, quite the opposite.
(Shlomo Filber)
