This Israeli Government Is Not US Ally — Dear President Trump
There are very few initiatives that you’ve undertaken since coming to office that I agree with — except in the Middle East
The fact that you are traveling there next week and meeting the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar — and that you have no plans to see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel — suggests to me that you are starting to understand a vital truth:
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that this Israeli government is behaving in ways that threaten hard-core US interests in the region Netanyahu is not our friend
Netanyahu did think he could make you his chump though which is why I am impressed by how you have signaled to him through your independent negotiations with Hamas, Iran and the Houthis that he has no purchase on you — that you will not be his patsy It clearly has him in a panic
I have no doubt that generally speaking, the Israeli people continue to see themselves as steadfast allies of the American people — and vice versa But this ultranationalist, messianic Israeli government is not America’s ally
Because this is the first government in Israel’s history whose priority is not peace with more of its Arab neighbors and the benefits that greater security and coexistence would bring
Its priority is, 1. the annexation of the West Bank 2. the expulsion of the Palestinians of Gaza 3. and the re-establishment there of Israeli settlements
