Trump zuckt Netanyahu auf dem Nahen Osten -Trip ab

Submission statement: Trump made a lot of big announcements and deals on his Middle East trip this week, but hardly included Israel at all. This is in stark contrast to his first term when he visited Israel as one of his first trips abroad, and gave a major concession while there by moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.

The article cites a few possible reasons. Trump now prefers the Gulf countries, autocracies where fabulously wealthy rulers can quickly make big decisions, such as trillion dollar business deals. Trump wants a Saudi-Israel normalization deal but believes it won’t happen while the Gaza war is ongoing. Trump sees the Gaza conflict as intractable for now, with neither Israel nor Hamas changing their position.

Another reason I suspect that’s not mentioned in the article – Trump is still personally angry at Netanyahu for recognizing Biden’s election victory in 2020.

The conflict in Israel is another looser in the eyes of Trump, a legacy of Biden’s many failures that he’d rather dissociate himself with. There’s nothing to be gained, no hope of resolution that could crown his trip, only grinding headaches that distracts from his plan to extricate US from ME squabbles. So long as Israel remains mired in Gaza, it can not played the role Trump had intended. Turkish successes in Syria on the other hand have provided US an unexpected off ramp and potential for equilibrium with Iran weakened. 

Trump is tying his legacy to ending wars while pillaging the actual American government.

A lasting deal with Iran and an end of war in Ukraine would be enough for a Nobel peace prize, he’s old and wants a crowning achievement that the domestic critics can’t attack him on.