A few months into his term, US President Donald Trump met with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh yesterday at the start of a tour of the Persian Gulf states aimed at improving relations with the Arab world. Trump, who is accompanied on the trip by American businessmen including Elon Musk, will visit Qatar today and tomorrow in the United Arab Emirates to present his vision for a new Middle East. The media has noted the conspicuous absence of a visit to Israel during the US president's tour.
Trump's decision to bypass Israel has raised questions about the close ally's place in Washington's priorities, and confirmed that the administration's focus is on investment, not security issues, in the Middle East, Reuters points out.
Israeli officials are trying to maintain a positive attitude towards Trump's decision, but it is clear that dissatisfaction is growing in Washington over the failure to end the war in Gaza.
The Israelis, according to CNN sources, tried to explore the possibility of stopping in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv during Trump's visit. However, the US president extinguished the last hope last week when he said he had no plans to do so.
“At some point we will do it,” Trump said. “But not during this trip.”
Trump might have agreed to include Israel on his agenda if he could present some kind of victory, whether it be a Gaza ceasefire agreement, a humanitarian aid plan, or something similar. But with Israel poised to expand the war in Gaza, no such results are forthcoming. Even the release of hostage Adan Alexander on Monday does not offer any hope of a comprehensive ceasefire any time soon.
Netanyahu prided himself on being the first world leader to visit Trump in his second term in February. During his second visit, in April, he also became the first leader to try to start negotiations on a new trade deal, after Trump announced tariffs on imports. But the Israeli prime minister left the White House without a trade deal and with a new worry: Trump's surprise announcement that the United States would begin negotiations on a new nuclear deal with Iran.
The problem for Netanyahu is that he currently has very little leverage in Washington, Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli diplomat, told CNN. “Netanyahu has nothing that Trump wants, needs or can offer him, unlike, say, the Saudis, the Qataris or the Emiratis,” Pinkas said. Wealthy Arab countries have pledged trillions of dollars in investment in the United States, which Trump can present as a victory for American industry.
During Trump's visit to Riyadh yesterday, Saudi Arabia pledged to invest $600 billion in the United States, including what the United States described as the largest arms deal between allies, worth nearly $142 billion. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said he hoped to see investment in the United States reach $XNUMX trillion.
"I really believe we like each other a lot," Trump said during a meeting with Bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.
Trump, as reported by Reuters, called the Saudi crown prince a friend and said they had a good relationship, adding that Saudi investments would help create jobs in the United States.
On the other hand, Trump has taken a series of steps in recent weeks that have made the Israeli prime minister look like a frustrated bystander. Trump has begun talks with Iran over its nuclear program that do not rule out the possibility that Tehran will retain some civilian nuclear capabilities; he has agreed to a ceasefire with the Houthis that does not stop the Yemeni group's attacks on Israel; and, according to a Reuters report, he is no longer demanding that Saudi Arabia normalize relations with Israel as a condition for launching the Saudi civilian nuclear program.
On Sunday, the Trump administration bypassed Israel to strike a deal with Hamas to release Adan Alexander, the last known living American hostage in Gaza, in what Trump described as a step “toward ending this very brutal war and returning all living hostages and remains to their loved ones.”
Israeli officials are now concerned about how Trump's week of meeting and receiving honors from Gulf leaders, all of whom have been critical of Israel's military offensive in Gaza, could affect his stance on the war and the ceasefire negotiations.
Trump is moving forward “like a bulldozer” toward what he wants, Dan Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told CNN, adding that when it comes to Israel, he wants progress on a ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages. Netanyahu’s tendency to delay making important decisions, as well as his practice of putting his own political survival before anything else, appear to be contributing factors to the White House’s willingness not to consult Israel on key decisions, he said. “He’s clearly frustrated with Netanyahu — as is every president who has worked with him,” he said.
Meanwhile, Trump's man in Jerusalem, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, tried to downplay speculation about a rift between the two leaders and said he "fully expects" Trump to visit Israel this year.
“No president has ever cared as much or done as much for the state of Israel as President Trump,” Huckabee told Israel’s Channel 13 in an interview broadcast Saturday night. “And his relationship with the prime minister is, in my opinion, extraordinary.”
Israelis see it differently.
Even the pro-Trump newspaper Israel HaYom pointed to the apparent rift with Netanyahu. Columnist Shai Golden wrote in an op-ed over the weekend: “The old saying ‘Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it’ perfectly describes the trap Netanyahu has fallen into with Trump.”
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