TIMES International
US President Donald Trump has publicly rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Washington pushes to finalise an agreement aimed at ending the conflict with Iran, exposing rare strains in a relationship long viewed as one of the closest between an American president and an Israeli leader, reports AP.
The dispute comes days before a planned signing ceremony on Friday at the Burgenstock resort near Lucerne, where negotiators are expected to formalise, a deal intended to end the war.
Trump has accused Netanyahu of actions that risk undermining diplomacy, particularly recent Israeli military operations in Lebanon, as he seeks to secure an agreement amid growing political pressure at home over the conflict and rising fuel prices.
Speaking at the G7 summit in France on Tuesday, Trump said he had directly conveyed his dissatisfaction to Netanyahu, commonly known by his nickname “Bibi”.
“Without the U.S., there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel because no other president was willing to do what I did,” Trump said. “I have had a great relationship with Bibi. Now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.”
The remarks marked a significant departure from the warm relationship the two leaders have often displayed publicly. Last year, Netanyahu described Trump as the “greatest friend Israel ever had in the White House”.
Trump has since escalated his criticism, reportedly describing Netanyahu as “crazy” and questioning his judgement in media interviews.
Although Netanyahu has frustrated several US presidents during his lengthy political career, analysts note that none has criticised him as openly as Trump.
Aaron David Miller, a veteran adviser on Middle East affairs who served both Democratic and Republican administrations, said Trump appeared willing to exert pressure if he believed Netanyahu threatened a key foreign policy objective.
“If Netanyahu gets in between something Trump really wants, and that’s out of this war, he’s prepared to use the leverage that he has,” Miller said.
The disagreement unfolds against a changing political backdrop in the United States. For decades, support for Israel enjoyed broad bipartisan backing in Washington. However, divisions have deepened in recent years.
Many liberals have become increasingly critical of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, particularly during the Gaza war, while some conservatives have questioned the extent of long-standing US commitments to Israel.
Concerns about antisemitism have also emerged across the political spectrum.
Trump’s comments drew immediate criticism from some pro-Israel voices on the political left.
“He is framing Israel’s mere existence as contingent on him,” said Halie Soifer, executive director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America. “It’s deeply offensive to the vast majority of Jews who care about Israel’s future.”
Former president Joe Biden and former vice-president Kamala Harris also clashed with Netanyahu during the Gaza conflict and occasionally voiced criticism publicly.
However, they generally adopted a more measured tone, mindful of accusations that they were insufficiently supportive of Israel.
Reaction among conservative pro-Israel groups was more mixed. Matt Brooks, president of the Republican Jewish Coalition, characterised the dispute as a disagreement between close allies rather than a fundamental rupture.
“If Biden or Harris said something critical, it came from the position of someone who was hostile toward or didn’t have the same level of support for Israel that President Trump has,” Brooks said.
He pointed to Trump’s record on Israel, including relocating the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem during his first term and efforts that helped secure the release of Israeli hostages from Gaza during his second presidency.
Mort Klein, president of the conservative Zionist Organization of America, said Trump should have handled his concerns privately.
He expressed concern that the president’s public criticism might be influenced by shifting public attitudes towards Israel in the United States.
Klein said he feared Trump was speaking out because “he sees that Americans have become more hostile toward Israel than they’ve ever been”.
“That worries me,” Klein said.
