President Donald Trump's decision not to visit Israel on his first Middle East — and first international — trip of this presidency has raised questions about whether the two countries are in lockstep with each other on issues in the region, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Trump opened his four-day trip to the Mideast with a visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. He is also making stops in Doha, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, but notably passing over Israel.
It is the latest in a string of decisions and actions by the White House that has stoked speculation about whether Trump's America First agenda is leaving Israel on the sidelines, the Journal reported.
According to the report, Israel was surprised by the Trump administration's direct negotiations with Hamas on the release of American hostage Edan Alexander and caught off guard when Trump ordered the end of military strikes on Houthi terrorists in Yemen without first stipulating they cease bombing Israel. There is also Trump's direct negotiations with Iran over their nuclear program.
"I wouldn't say it is the end of the honeymoon, but there is a very clear-eyed understanding that President Trump isn't Israel's prime minister, but the president of the U.S.," Yohanan Plesner, president of the think tank Israel Democracy Institute, told the Journal.
As Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said last week, "The U.S. doesn't have to tell Israel everything that it is going to do."
Same goes for Israel, Huckabee added.
Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, confidant to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, met with administration officials last week in Washington to make sure the U.S. and Israel are on the same page. An Israeli official told the Journal that, yes, they are.
"The relationship is fine. Not lockstep, but in a tango, partners sometimes step on each other's toes," the official told the Journal.
In an interview with Newsmax on Monday, Israel Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon did not criticize the Trump administration's diplomatic efforts with Iran but said he is not expecting much from them either.
"President Trump is trying to work diplomacy with Iran. We respect the efforts. … But, you know, when you see a regime like Iran threatening to destroy the Jewish people, the state of Israel … we cannot sit idly by and just wait and see whether they mean it or not," Danon said. "You know, history has taught us better than that. So we are coordinating our efforts with the U.S. We are skeptical about the negotiations, but we are waiting to see where it goes."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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