Trump's Saudi talks, Houthi ceasefire strain ties with Netanyahu ahead of Middle East trip

President Donald Trump volition sojourn Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates adjacent week to beforehand a flurry of high-stakes negotiations, but his travel comes arsenic cracks look to person appeared successful his narration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On the docket are reviving hostage talks with Israel and Hamas, exploring an off-ramp for the Russia-Ukraine warfare and perchance a civilian atomic woody with Saudi Arabia, adjacent if the kingdom refuses to normalize ties with Israel.

However, an evident chill betwixt Trump and Netanyahu has grabbed the attraction of Middle East watchers.

Yanir Cozin, a analogous for Israeli Army Radio, claimed this week that Trump had "cut contact" with the Israeli leader. That study has not been independently confirmed, but it aligns with an emerging cognition successful Israeli governmental circles that the Trump-Netanyahu axis whitethorn beryllium fraying.

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President Donald Trump, right, meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a gathering wherever Trump announced atomic talks with Iran, Washington, D.C., April 7, 2025 ( REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt)

"There's ever a method to the president's madness, truthful to speak," said Scott Feltman, enforcement vice president of the One Israel Fund. "There is simply a prevailing thought that [Trump] precise overmuch wants Israel to basal connected its ain 2 feet… To immoderate extent, helium whitethorn beryllium giving the premier curate a small spot of pugnacious love."

Sources told Reuters Trump is prepared to determination guardant with a civilian atomic woody with Riyadh adjacent if Saudi Arabia holds disconnected connected normalizing relations with Israel – a melodramatic displacement from some his archetypal medication and Biden’s, which had tied specified deals to broader normalization goals.

For Israel, that displacement whitethorn beryllium unsettling. Riyadh has agelong insisted connected the instauration of a Palestinian authorities arsenic a precondition for afloat ties with Israel, an result Netanyahu has rejected.

Over the weekend, it was revealed Trump was successful talks with Doha officials astir a imaginable woody for Qatar to loan the U.S. a jet to regenerate Air Force One. Israeli supporters person agelong been skeptical of Qatar, claiming it has ties to Hamas. 

Meanwhile, vexation successful Jerusalem grew this week erstwhile the U.S. reached a ceasefire statement with Yemen’s Houthi militants. The deal, brokered without Israeli input, required the Houthis to halt attacks connected Red Sea shipping lanes but made nary notation of their assaults connected Israel.

"Trump, to a ample extent, fundamentally threw Israel nether the bus," said Avi Melamed, a erstwhile Israeli quality authoritative and determination analyst. "I deliberation the Israeli authorities is puzzled, embarrassed … peculiarly successful the discourse of the Houthis."

Netanyahu made wide Israel would not trust connected the U.S. to grip the Houthi threat. "Israel volition support itself by its ain forces," helium said Thursday, with Defense Minister Israel Katz echoing that position.

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U.S. and Saudi flags flutter connected the large highways of Riyadh up of the accomplishment of President Donald Trump to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, connected May 12, 2025. (REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed)

Despite the rhetoric, the U.S. continues to enactment Israel’s defenses. On Friday, a U.S. THAAD rocket strategy intercepted rockets fired toward Israel by Houthi forces.

"The United States isn’t required to get support from Israel to marque immoderate benignant of statement that would get the Houthis from firing connected our ships," U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee told Israel’s Channel 12 this week. 

However, Huckabee changeable down immoderate study of tensions betwixt the 2 satellite leaders. 

"It’s reckless & irresponsible for property to allege that @POTUS and @IsraeliPM are not getting along," Huckabee said successful a station connected X. "Bibi has spent much clip with @realDonaldTrump than I person successful past 3 months & I’m his ambassador! The narration betwixt US & Israel remains STRONG!"

"Israel has had nary amended person successful its past than President Trump. We proceed to enactment intimately with our state Israel to guarantee remaining hostages successful Gaza are freed, Iran ne'er obtains a atomic weapon, and to fortify determination information successful the Middle East," National Security Council spokesperson James Hewitt told Fox News Digital successful effect to the reports of tensions. 

"It’s reckless & irresponsible for property to allege that @POTUS and @IsraeliPM are not getting along," U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, left, said. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Other experts caution against speechmaking excessively overmuch into the friction.

"The Israelis ne'er had immoderate mendacious impressions that the U.S. was striking the Houthis to support Israel," said Gregg Roman of the Middle East Forum. "It was to support planetary commerce... And it’s not similar the U.S. has abandoned Israel."

Roman besides downplayed tensions implicit the imaginable Saudi atomic deal. "I deliberation a safer Saudi Arabia, astatine the extremity of the day, volition pb to a safer Israel."

Adding to the determination uncertainty is Netanyahu’s soundlessness connected Iran. While his authorities has tallied caller gains against Iranian proxies – Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Assad authorities – helium has truthful acold refrained from weighing successful publically connected atomic negotiations with Tehran.

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Still, Netanyahu says helium remains successful adjacent interaction with the Trump squad astir Iran. "I said to President Trump that I anticipation that this is what the negotiators volition do," helium precocious told reporters. "We’re successful adjacent interaction with the United States. But I said 1 mode oregon the other—Iran volition not person atomic weapons."

Trump "is not scheduled to sojourn Israel connected this trip, and I really deliberation that that mightiness precise good beryllium a bully thing, due to the fact that helium whitethorn find that helium hears from the Sunni states that they're conscionable arsenic upset astir the way that is taking spot close present with negotiations with Iran," said Feltman. "They person conscionable arsenic overmuch to suffer from a atomic Iranian regime."