Washington Post: Trump fulfills Netanyahu’s wishes but his support comes with risks

The Washington Post said that US President Donald Trump has responded to many of the demands of the Israeli right, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the latest of which is the launch of a joint war on Iran, which has been described as the biggest adventure for the two men together.

The Washington Post enumerated Israel’s wishes that Trump fulfilled both in his first term, and the current one, as he moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, and canceled the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.

Washington has also drastically reduced its funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and provided a US passport office to settlers in the West Bank, and on the morning of February 28, Washington engaged in an all-out attack on Iran, a demand that Netanyahu has been urging US presidents to implement for decades.

The Washington Post commented on this development by saying that it’s the most important bet that Trump and Netanyahu have made, because this escalating war is reshaping the region in ways that neither of them fully controls, putting them at risk of becoming the architects of a real catastrophe in the Middle East.

The repercussions of that war could be negative for them internally, because it’s not certain that it will be enough for Netanyahu to boost his slim electoral hopes, as he will face shocked voters while still trying to evade responsibility for the catastrophic security failures of October 7, 2023 attack, so he is betting that the war may be his last lifeline.

As for President Trump, with the midterm congressional elections approaching, the war is straining his political base based on rejecting foreign interference, and comes in light of rising fuel prices.

Many of Trump’s associates blame him for allowing Netanyahu to be dragged into what conservative American media outlet Tucker Carlson called “Israel’s war”.

Trump and Netanyahu are a heterogeneous duo, and the essence of their volatile partnership lies in the recurring question of who actually moves the other, as many Americans see Trump as controlled by a masterful Israeli manipulator who has spent 30 years learning how to get Washington to do what Israel wants.

On the other hand, President Trump has been pressuring his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, to grant Netanyahu a pre-emptive pardon for corruption charges against him.

In June, Trump ordered strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities after Israel launched large-scale military strikes against Iran, which responded with missile attacks and the confrontation lasted 12 days.

After that war, questions began to be raised about the prospects of another military confrontation, especially since Trump preferred the option of a settlement through negotiations with Iran, while Netanyahu sought through several visits to the United States to confirm his desire to attack Iran, whether with or without Washington’s participation.

The Washington Post quoted private sources as saying that Netanyahu’s determination to start attacking Iran led Trump to believe that an Israeli attack was inevitable, and that the best course of action was to engage US military power to ensure its success.

Since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran and the assassination of its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Trump has become a hero in Israel, and has become the biggest supporter of Netanyahu, who is seeking to improve his legal status and boost his coalition’s chances in early elections in the next few months.

Netanyahu has been keen to show off his relationship with Trump, posting photos of him with Trump on the facades of many buildings in Israel, and his government has awarded him the Israel Prize, the country’s highest cultural honor, and invited him to a ceremony in April.

The Washington Post said that this would be a living embodiment of the alliance between the two parties, but it draws attention to the fact that the success of that alliance isn’t certain, because their joint war on Iran could be the last chapter of Netanyahu’s political life, or the chapter that will save him again.