Steve Williams 
Trump and Netanyahu at White House
In a development that would have been unthinkable just a year ago, the once-unshakable bond between the United States and Israel is showing unmistakable signs of rupture. Under President Donald Trump’s second term, Washington is pursuing a radical recalibration of its Middle East policy, one that appears to relegate Israel from indispensable ally to peripheral observer amidst the raging war in Gaza, in which Israel has been accused of committing genocide.
Recognition Without Consultation
According to reporting by the Jerusalem Post, U.S. officials are seriously considering a unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, without Israel’s involvement or approval. The move, which may be announced at an upcoming U.S.-Gulf summit in Saudi Arabia, would represent a seismic break from the decades-old principle that no final-status decisions regarding the Palestinians should be made without direct Israeli input and settlement.
If carried through, it would be the first time in U.S. history that a Palestinian state is recognized formally while bypassing both Israel and the moribund peace process, which has stalled for years with bouts of violence in between. For many in Jerusalem, the message is clear. The United States is no longer waiting for Israeli consensus, or even cooperation.
Hostages, Leaks, and Leverage
Adding salt to injury, Trump’s Middle East envoy, real estate mogul Steve Witkoff, has not only broken ranks with Israel publicly, but reportedly deliberately leaked his criticisms to the press to apply pressure on the Israeli government to reach a ceasefire before Trump embarks on his Middle East tour. In a meeting with families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, Witkoff offered a stark assessment:
“We want to bring the hostages home, but Israel is not willing to end the war. Israel is prolonging it despite the fact that we don’t see where else we can go and that an agreement must be reached… There is currently an opportunity window that we hope Israel and all the mediators will take advantage of. We are putting pressure on all the mediators and doing everything we can to bring the hostages home.”
This statement, damning in its implication that Israel is standing in the way of peace, has shaken Israeli officials, especially coming from one of Trump’s closest Middle East advisers. The episode further underscores a deepening trust gap between Washington and Jerusalem, which threatens to harm their long term brouhaha
Backdoor Diplomacy With Hamas
In an unprecedented shift, the United States entered into direct negotiations with Hamas for the release of American hostage Edan Alexander, sidelining Israel entirely while doing so. This marks the first known instance of Washington formally engaging with the militant group — which is designated a terrorist organization by both the U.S., EU and Israel — without Israeli mediation or approval.
For Israeli security officials, this move is not just symbolic; it is deeply alarming and frightening. The optics of America striking deals with Hamas behind Israel’s back threaten to upend years of counterterror coordination and may point to a larger progress in the background.
Diplomatic Cold Shoulder
As if to confirm the chill, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth abruptly canceled his scheduled trip to Israel, choosing instead to join President Trump on his Middle East tour — a tour that explicitly skips Israel. It is the first time in modern memory that a sitting U.S. president will visit the region without stopping in Jerusalem. The previous US President, Joe Biden, visited Israel immediately after the Hamas attacks.
The message is unmistakable: Israel is no longer the indispensable stop on America’s regional itinerary. A development that has made Israeli officials scrambling for answers.
Concessions Without Conditions
The U.S. is also quietly abandoning key Israeli red lines in ceasefire talks and broader regional negotiations. According to senior officials:
The requirement for Hamas to disarm as part of any Gaza truce has been reportedly dropped or is being considered to be dropped.
The U.S. is no longer demanding Israeli-Saudi normalization as a prerequisite for advancing civil nuclear cooperation with Riyadh.
A U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Yemen’s Houthis — bitter enemies of Israel — was reached without informing Jerusalem, let alone involving it.
Each of these shifts chips away at the strategic assumptions that once bound Washington and Jerusalem in a common vision.
A Gulf Gift Raises Eyebrows
Amid this diplomatic disentanglement, President Trump is reportedly set to receive a luxurious $400 million Boeing 747-8 jet from Qatar, gifted by the Qatari royal family. The plane, to be retrofitted for use as an interim Air Force One, is seen by some analysts as a token of deepening ties between Trump and the Gulf monarchies — ties increasingly forged without Israeli participation.
This unprecedented gift has raised concerns in Israeli circles, not just over the symbolism of Qatar’s influence, but over what it signals: a Middle East order now pivoting around Washington, Riyadh, Doha — and leaving Jerusalem out in the cold.
A New Strategic Reality
Geopolitical analysts view it as more than just a cooling of relations. It’s a potential strategic divorce from a key ally.
While Trump-era rhetoric still includes the perfunctory affirmations of support for Israel, the substance of policy is drifting away. Some of the president’s closest confidants have, in private and occasionally public remarks, expressed sharp criticisms of Israel’s behavior — even using slurs that have deeply offended Jewish leaders. Meanwhile, Trump’s deputy national security officials have embraced a doctrine of “hard isolationism,” favoring disengagement from long-standing entanglements — including Israel’s conflicts.
A Shadow Over the Alliance
For Israel, a country that has long relied on unwavering American support — diplomatically, militarily, and psychologically — the current shift feels not just like betrayal, but abandonment. With rising regional instability, uncertain hostages conditions, and eroding diplomatic clout, Jerusalem now faces a sobering reality: America is moving on without it. While officials on both sides insist things are well, in reality, a rift is forming slowly.
And in this new Middle East, Israel may find itself more isolated — and more vulnerable — than it has been in decades.
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