Trump makes Netanyahu nervous

Donald Trump's route for his recent trip to the Middle East had a blatant omission. The President visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, but not Israel, supposedly American all -allows in the region. When he was asked about the Snub, he insisted that it was not a snub at all: “This is good for Israel,” said Trump, referring to the alliances that he would strengthen with countries that were not called Israel in particular.

Due to the transition from the country, Trump gave a clear signal that Israel's concerns did not have its top priority in the Middle East and may have not been for some time. To judge the region to the region according to his government should not be surprising. Trump has pursued guidelines that repeatedly undermined the agenda of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – and show that the divisions between the United States and Israel expand.

Most Israelis welcomed Trump's re -election: Almost two thirds believed that he would support their interests more than Kamala Harris and for good reason. During his first term, he had moved the US message to Jerusalem, torn America's nuclear agreements with Iran, recognized the annexation of the Golanhöhe Israelis and contributed to normalizing their relationships with several Arab countries. In contrast to Harris, their thinking did not compromise with Iran or let the Hamas give in. Her belief is tested four months after his administration.

Read: Trump crushes the Netanyahu myth

Let's start with Iran. The United States has been negotiating with Israel's arch enemy about its nuclear program for weeks, which increases the possibility that the Trump government could relieve sanctions and alleviate its attitude towards the regime. A deal is not inevitable, but the view alone is an atrocities for Netanyahu who loathed America's former nuclear agreement and triggered Iran its characteristic mission.

Gaza has also become a source of disagreement, especially this month, when Israel increased rocket attacks in the region. The renewed offensive not only disturbs Trump's (ridiculous) plan to “take over” the region and to rebuild it as “Riviera of the Middle East”. His failure is also emphasized to end the conflict that he had promised in a short time. Netanyahu wants the Hamas to be “completely defeated”, a goal that he cannot achieve without significantly extending the war. But at the beginning of this month, Trump demanded a ceasefire that excitedly excited in Israel that American support may not last for his military campaign. In another worrying sign for Israel, the Trump government recently negotiated the release of an Israeli American dual citizen, Edan Alexander, without the country's participation. This strengthened Netanyahus' critics who say that he hadn't done enough to free the remaining dozen Israeli hostages, which are believed to be alive.

Syria is another wound topic for Israel. During his trip to Saudi Arabia, Trump met with Ahmed al-Sharaa, the new head of state in Syria for the first time that a US president had been hit by the country for 25 years. Trump announced that he raised us sanctions and called Al-Sharaa “attractive” and “pretty amazing”. These are probably not the words that Netanyahu would use. Israel sees Al-Sharaa as a threat, not least because of his previous relationships with al-Qaida. In the hope of weakening its new regime, Israel bombed Syria, built military bases along their common border and supported the Syrian opposition. The Israeli officials had asked the Trump government to keep sanctions in place. Trump didn't listen.

Read: Can a man hold Syria together?

The United States also defy Israel's interests in Yemen. After the massacre of October 7, the Houthis in Yemen began to attack American naval vessels and to lead to solidarity with Hamas missile attacks on Israel. The United States replied by attacking the Houthis that applauded Israel. At the beginning of this month, the Trump government negotiated a ceasefire with the Houthis. Israel was excluded from the deal and was excluded for itself: The agreement was announced just two days after a Houthi rocket, the country's main airport was announced and additional strikes against Israel followed the ceasefire.

Generally – and most importantly in the long run – the Trump government is less inclined to take on the assertive role that America traditionally played in the Middle East and depends on Israel. As part of President Joe Biden, the United States contributed a considerable military presence in the region and provided enormous support for the Israeli campaign in Gaza, even when his government of Israel urged to negotiate a ceasefire and work with moderate Palestinians. In contrast, Trump withdraws some troops from Syria and has filled his cabinet with civil servants who share his skepticism compared to foreign interventions. The America's leadership in the Middle East has shaped the region in a way that Israel has benefited massively: deterrence and coercion of Iran, neutralization of the Islamic State and other terrorists and reconciled moderate Arab states such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The Trump government will not give up these roles, but it is already withdrawing from some of them.

However, none of this means that the US Israel Alliance is in the crisis. Differences of opinion will continue to arise, but Israelis have reason to assume that the support of America will generally remain strong. Most of Trump's consultants still see themselves as supporters of Israel, as are most of the Congress Republicans. Despite the fears of some Israelis, Trump probably does not seem to withdraw the support from her military operations in Gaza, also because he has expressed so little worry about the humanitarian crisis, the Palestinian. And the president continued to support militant Israeli settlers in the West Bank and appointed an ambassador, Mike Huckabee, who previously supported Israel's campaign for the region's annexation. (Ironically, part of this support did Netanyahus job More difficult By encouraging the extreme right of his coalition, whose demands for comprehensive political changes become more difficult for him to be able to ignore.)

Nevertheless, the situation of Israel changed fundamentally compared to a few years ago. With regard to former presidents, Trump is much more willing to ignore the interests of the country and pursue goals that undermine them openly. Israel probably does not lose America as an ally. But this ally could soon make the Middle East look much more threatening.