Trump's Saudi Talks, Houthi Ceasefire Strain Ties With Netanyahu Ahead Of Middle East Trip

President Donald Trump will sojourn Saudi Arabia, Qatar and nan 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 pinch Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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

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

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

4TH ROUND OF US-IRAN TALKS ENDS AS TRUMP SET TO EMBARK ON HISTORIC MIDDLE EAST TOUR

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

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

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

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

Over nan weekend, it was revealed Trump was successful talks pinch Doha officials astir a imaginable woody for Qatar to loan nan U.S. a jet to switch 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 nan U.S. reached a ceasefire statement pinch Yemen’s Houthi militants. The deal, brokered without Israeli input, required nan Houthis to halt attacks connected Red Sea shipping lanes but made nary mention of their assaults connected Israel.

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

Netanyahu made clear Israel would not trust connected nan U.S. to grip nan Houthi threat. "Israel will take sides itself by its ain forces," he said Thursday, pinch Defense Minister Israel Katz echoing that position.

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

Despite nan rhetoric, nan U.S. continues to support 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 make immoderate type of statement that would get nan 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 nan 2 world 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 pinch @realDonaldTrump than I person successful past 3 months & I’m his ambassador! The narration betwixt US & Israel remains STRONG!"

"Israel has had nary amended friend successful its history than President Trump. We proceed to activity intimately pinch our state Israel to guarantee remaining hostages successful Gaza are freed, Iran ne'er obtains a atomic weapon, and to fortify location information successful nan Middle East," National Security Council spokesperson James Hewitt told Fox News Digital successful consequence to nan 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 be aware against reference excessively overmuch into nan friction.

"The Israelis ne'er had immoderate mendacious impressions that nan U.S. was striking nan Houthis to take sides Israel," said Gregg Roman of nan Middle East Forum. "It was to protect world commerce... And it’s not for illustration nan U.S. has abandoned Israel."

Roman besides downplayed tensions complete nan imaginable Saudi atomic deal. "I deliberation a safer Saudi Arabia, astatine nan extremity of nan day, will lead to a safer Israel."

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

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Still, Netanyahu says he remains successful adjacent interaction pinch nan Trump squad astir Iran. "I said to President Trump that I dream that this is what nan negotiators will do," he precocious told reporters. "We’re successful adjacent interaction pinch nan United States. But I said 1 measurement aliases nan other—Iran will not person atomic weapons."

Trump "is not scheduled to sojourn Israel connected this trip, and I really deliberation that that mightiness very good beryllium a bully thing, because he whitethorn find that he hears from nan Sunni states that they're conscionable arsenic upset astir nan way that is taking spot correct now pinch negotiations pinch Iran," said Feltman. "They person conscionable arsenic overmuch to suffer from a atomic Iranian regime."