Before Donald Trump was inaugurated on January 20, Steve Witkoff, whom Trump had designated as his Middle East Envoy, came to visit Prime Minister Netanyahu.
While it is likely that most of us will never know precisely what went on between the two of them, there were leaks and hints and the outcome made clear what the essence of Witkoff’s message to Netanyahu was. He had strong-armed our prime minister into making a hostage deal with Hamas that was troublesome; this was with regard to an unacceptable number of prisoners (several with blood on their hands) to be released and the terms of the ceasefire. Biden had offered this deal, and Netanyahu had rejected it. A better deal might have been achieved, had Israel held out longer.
But Trump wanted it finished, so that it would be a done-deal before the inauguration. This would enable the newly sworn-in president to say in his inauguration address, “Look what I made happen!”
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This taught us two things: First, that Trump is eager for opportunities to look like the hero in a difficult situation. And then, that sometimes looking like the hero takes precedence for him over what might be in the best interests of a close ally.
As we have watched the manner in which he has operated in the three and a-half months since he moved back into the White House, we have also seen again and again his penchant for seeking “deals.” As I have written before, he is a transactionalist and not an ideologue.
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Witkoff – who is a long-time friend of Trump’s and a real estate mogul – lacks credentials for the position he has assumed: He is neither a seasoned diplomat nor an academic. He was quickly compromised when his relationship with Qatar was exposed.
And, in turn, the Qataris themselves were compromised in their role as negotiators between Israel and Hamas when their support for Hamas was exposed:
“Qatar protected Hamas leadership while maintaining the appearance of neutrality.”
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There were expectations that Trump might replace Witkoff with someone more competent (and without Qatari connections), but he did not. And so, there are serious questions that have yet to be answered regarding precisely how Trump wants his friend to fill his role. Most particularly, this is concerning Witkoff’s role in negotiating a deal with Iran (which is looking very troublesome).
But I will table this concern now and return to it at a later date. Here I want to head in another direction.
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When Trump won the election, the vast majority of American Israelis (myself included) celebrated. We knew how horrendous it would have been had Kamala won, and so, in this regard, we remain grateful that it is Trump calling the shots.
He has done a great deal that is good for Israel, and for Jewish community more broadly. He has released military equipment that Biden withheld – equipment we had paid for and needed for fighting in Gaza. He voided sanctions Biden had placed on certain residents of Judea & Samaria. He is fighting anti-Semitism in the US and has graciously welcomed Netanyahu to the White House.
It is important to go on record marking these positive actions. We greatly appreciate them and fervently hope we can see more in a similar vein going forward.
Nonetheless, it is at least as important to note problematic areas in our relationship with the Trump administration: we cannot allow appreciation for what is good blind us to a deeply troubling situation.
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After the Houthis launched a ballistic missile at Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday – a missile that actually landed on the periphery of the airport, our government was inclined to respond. But Trump advised Netanyahu to “Leave it to us.” The US was bombing the Houthis daily (with little effect).
I described this in my last posting: https://arlenefromisrael.info/hold-tight-very-tight/
A day later, in a meeting that Netanyahu held with security advisors in his office, a decision was made to respond directly to the Houthi attack. One Israeli official noted that, “Washington now realizes that Israel can no longer remain passive.”
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By Monday evening, Israel had responded. There was cooperation with the US, but it was not a joint attack. Twenty Israeli fighter jets, accompanied by refueling planes, flew some 2,000 kilometers to western Yemen and bombed the Houthi port of Hodeidah, used for the transfer of Iranian weapons and other military equipment, and a nearby cement factory, used for constructing tunnels and other terrorist infrastructure.
Here we see , Defense Minister Israel Katz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir overseeing the operation.
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But this was not the end of it. On Tuesday, dozens of Israeli fighter jets flew to Yemen and attacked numerous terror targets. Most significant of these was the Sana’a airport, which was leveled in 15 minutes. It had been utilized by the Houthis for transfer of weapons and operatives. All the planes in the airport were destroyed. Additionally, power stations and another concrete factory were struck.
This attack followed a warning by Israel that a strike was imminent.
As I tracked this, the word that came to my mind was “stunning” – a fitting way to describe a no nonsense, exquisitely executed attack on an enemy, a proxy of Iran.
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Actually, I had intended to utilize this as the title of a posting describing the operation. But dynamics shifted:
On Wednesday, Trump announced that the Houthis had said they didn’t want to fight anymore and would stop targeting ships. Trump said he would take them on their word and stop bombing the Houthis.
See a video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6gmCKyYxFQ
Now it was Israel that was stunned.
Netanyahu learned about this apparent arrangement from the news. He was not notified in advance.
What became clear, following Trump’s announcement, was that the Houthis said this applied only to American interests. They intended to continue to hit Israel. And this was accepted by Trump. No demand was made that Israel be enfolded into the agreement.
Perhaps most shocking about this readiness by Trump to ignore Israeli security interests was the fact that it was clearly the attacks by Israel that had precipitated the message from the Houthis to the US. How crazy is this? For Trump not to allude to Israel’s role in promoting this Houthi surrender of sorts. For Trump to not mention Israel at all.
Trump had thrown us under the bus.
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I am not, as yet, aware of any statement regarding this by Netanyahu, nor any change in Israeli policy. This is, obviously, a story that is still unfolding. Some analysts believe that this verbal, informal Houthi-US agreement will not hold.
Trump is coming to this region next week but does not intend to stop in Israel. It appears that this may have significant implications.
The Trump administration has decided to drop the demand for normalization with Israel as a condition for a security agreement with Saudi Arabia.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/408083
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The big worry is Iran, with regard to Trump’s obvious preference for “deals” and the possibility – Heaven forbid – that he might strike a poor deal, leaving Israel – and the world – at risk. He has just demonstrated a disregard for Israeli security. And already Witkoff has indicated the possibility of going with parameters that are, in fact, unacceptable. See Senators Graham and Cotton on this:
https://youtu.be/CUXU97d763s?si=yhTS-Qe3qlgRBHyc
As I stated above, I will return to this issue, likely several times.
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Here I want to focus on Hamas. There have been several statements from Trump in recent weeks indicating that he thought Israel was taking too long with the war in Gaza: it was time for it to be over. There have been multiple reasons for the length of time it is taking for us to eliminate Hamas. One, of course, is the presence of hostages and concerns that they not be in the line of fire. But there are others: Biden’s withholding of weaponry, pressure on Israel with regard to distribution of “humanitarian aid,” etc. Now we are moving very well.
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There is concern that Trump might attempt to push us into a “deal” with Hamas – a deal that would be negotiated by Witkoff and leave Hamas standing. He has already demonstrated a shocking lack of concern for Israel.
I have written at length about the existential need for Israel to destroy Hamas, both militarily and as a governing entity in Gaza.
But there are also broader implications for the world of leaving Hamas standing. If Hamas remains standing, it will embolden jihadis and jihadis-supporters across the world.
The war Israel is fighting is for the world.
Please see – and share – an exceedingly important discussion about the global implications for what is happening in Gaza, by Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, and Khaled Abu Toameh, senior fellow at JCFA and the Gatestone Institute.
The war with Hamas is not a local conflict, it is a global flashpoint.
“Failure to decisively defeat Hamas will destabilize not only Israel’s southern front but entire Arab regimes in Jordan and Egypt, empower the Muslim Brotherhood and embolden Iran’s terror proxies across the region.” It will also destabilize America.
https://www.jns.org/what-the-west-is-missing-about-the-gaza-war/
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I ask for prayers for Israel’s wellbeing.
Pray for the wisdom and courage of our leaders.
Pray for the safety of our brave troops.
Pray that the hostages will be brought home.
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©Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
