President Donald Trump decided to distance himself from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his frustration with Israel’s ongoing political deadlock, according to officials in Tel Aviv.
The officials who spoke to Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper Sunday, indicated that the Trump administration is “discouraged and frustrated” by Israel’s ongoing political crisis and the US president is deeply disappointed with the Israeli PM.
According to sources, Trump has decided to distance himself from Netanyahu after his failure to secure a clear victory in the April 9 elections and form a government, despite the assistance Israel’s leader received from the president.
“The president doesn’t like losers,” said a White House source.
Before the elections, Netanyahu was invited to the White House and Trump officially recognized the Golan Heights as Israel’s sovereign territory. He also designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization.
Not to mention that Trump previously recognized Jerusalem as an Israeli capital and moved the US embassy to the city.
During the election campaign ahead of the September 17 vote, Trump’s behavior toward Netanyahu changed. He did not offer any gifts to the PM nor did he make statements and promises, except a tweet on forming a joint defense alliance with Israel.
The newspaper linked that information with the statement of former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson two months ago during an event at Harvard University that Netanyahu “played” Trump on several occasions by providing him with incorrect information despite the strong relations between US and Israel.
Tillerson indicated that “it's always useful to carry a healthy amount of skepticism” when holding discussions with Netanyahu.
“It bothers me that an ally that's that close and important to us would do that to us.”
