Trump's Gulf tour reshapes Middle East diplomatic map
NOTHING captured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's isolation more starkly last week than the image of United States President Donald Trump shaking hands with Syria's leader Ahmed al-Sharaa — a man Israel has branded "an al-Qaeda terrorist in a suit".
"He's got the potential. He's a real leader," said Trump after talks with Ahmed on Wednesday in Riyadh — a meeting brokered by his Saudi hosts, with whom the US president agreed a slew of arms, business and technology deals.
Trump's four-day tour of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates was more than just a diplomatic spectacle marked by lucrative investments.
It sealed the emergence of a new Sunni-led Middle East order and leaves Israel sidelined, according to three regional and two Western sources.
Amid growing irritation in Washington with Israel's failure to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, Trump's tour was a snub to Netanyahu, a close US ally who was the first foreign leader to visit Washington after the president returned to office in January, said the sources.
The message was clear: in Trump's less ideological, more results-driven vision of Middle East diplomacy, Netanyahu could no longer count on unconditional US support for his right-wing agenda, said the sources.
"This administration is very frustrated with Netanyahu and that frustration is showing," said David Schenker, a former US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs under former president George W. Bush.
"They're very, very transactional, and Netanyahu isn't giving them anything right now."
The Trump administration wanted to deliver the message to Netanyahu that the US had its own interests in the Middle East, and it does not like him standing in its way, the sources added.
US patience has been strained not just by the Israeli prime minister's refusal to countenance a Gaza ceasefire but also his objection to US talks with Iran over its nuclear programme.
While publicly insisting US-Israeli relations remain strong, Trump administration officials have privately expressed irritation with Netanyahu's refusal to fall into line with Washington's positions on Gaza and Iran.
Six regional and Western sources said friction between the US and Israel was building before Trump's regional trip.
The tension began when Netanyahu flew to Washington on a second visit last month seeking Trump's backing for military strikes on Iran's nuclear sites — only to discover, to his shock, that Trump was opting for diplomacy.
An unbending advocate for a hardline stance against Teheran, Netanyahu was caught off guard, learning just hours before his meeting that negotiations were about to start.
In the following weeks, Trump's declaration of a ceasefire with the Houthis in Yemen, rapprochement with Syria's new leadership and bypassing of Israel on his Gulf visit showed how the traditionally close relations had become strained, said the sources.
During his election campaign, Trump made clear he wanted a ceasefire in Gaza and the hostages there released before he returned to the White House.
Months into Trump's presidency, Netanyahu has continued to defy ceasefire calls, expanded the offensive and offered no endgame or a post-war plan after 19 months of conflict.
The death toll in Gaza has passed 52,900 in recent days, according to local health officials.
Any hope that Trump could use his regional visit to cement his image as a peacemaker and announce a deal to end the bitterly divisive war were dashed.
Instead, Netanyahu — who is charged with war crimes in Gaza by the International Criminal Court — has doubled-down on his aim of crushing Hamas.
Netanyahu is also on trial in Israel over corruption charges, which he denies.
As Trump wrapped up his visit, Israel launched a new offensive last Friday in Gaza. Israeli strikes have killed hundreds of Palestinians in recent days.
Trump's other key priority — expanding the Abraham Accords establishing diplomatic ties between Israel and Arab states to include Saudi Arabia — has also been blocked by Netanyahu's intransigence.
Publicly, Trump himself has dismissed any talk of a rift. But Trump is forging ahead without Netanyahu.
With unapologetic self-interest, the US president is driving a realignment of US diplomacy towards wealthy Sunni states.
Although Netanyahu led the fight against Iran, the new regional order is being shaped in Riyadh, Doha and Abu Dhabi.
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