Skepticism of Netanyahu growing inside White House, sources say
Kevin Liptak
, CNN
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, speaks during a dinner at the White House with US President Donald Trump earlier this month.
Photo:via CNN Newsource
US President Donald Trump was caught by surprise last week by Israeli actions in Gaza and Syria, and in both instances phoned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "rectify" the matter, according to the White House.
That underscores what sources have said is an increasingly tense dynamic between the two leaders.
A strike last Thursday on the only Catholic Church in Gaza drew an immediate negative reaction from Trump, who phoned Netanyahu to voice his displeasure and to ensure the Israeli leader released a statement calling the strike a mistake.
Trump was similarly surprised by Israel airstrikes targeting government buildings in the Syrian capital Damascus last week at a moment his administration is working to rebuild the war-torn nation.
"The president enjoys a good working relationship with Bibi Netanyahu, and stays in frequent communication with him. He was caught off guard by the bombing in Syria and also the bombing of a Catholic Church in Gaza," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House on Monday.
"In both accounts, the president quickly called the prime minister to rectify those situations," she went on.
Leavitt pointed to efforts by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to calm tensions in Syria, where Trump has eased sanctions and thrown his support behind the new president, former rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Trump, who hosted Netanyahu at the White House earlier this month, has long had a complicated relationship with the Israeli leader. Despite being strong allies, the two men are not personally close, people familiar with the dynamic said, and the pairing has at times been colored by mutual distrust.
Still, Trump had appeared to be closer than ever to Netanyahu following his decision to join Israel's air campaign in Iran this summer. During a dinner in the White House Blue Room earlier this month, Netanyahu made a dramatic show of presenting a letter he'd written to the Nobel committee nominating Trump for the peace prize.
Trump had hoped Netanyahu's four-day visit to Washington would yield progress on a ceasefire in Gaza that would include the release of hostages still held by Hamas and a significant increase in the amount of humanitarian aid allowed in the besieged enclave. The US president said repeatedly ahead of the visit he expected a ceasefire that week.
But Netanyahu departed the United States without a deal being announced. Now - nearly a week after mediators submitted the latest ceasefire and hostage release proposal to Hamas - all parties are still waiting for Hamas' leaders in Gaza to respond, two sources familiar with the negotiations told CNN. Hamas said in a statement Monday they are "exerting all our efforts and energies around the clock" to reach an agreement on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage releases.
Trump has watched with growing concern as the Gaza war claims more lives - including three killed in last week's church bombing.
"The president's message on this conflict we've seen in the Middle East taking place for far too long, that has become quite brutal, especially in recent days, you've seen reports of more people dying. I think the president never likes to see that. He wants the killing to end," Leavitt said.
She also lauded the administration's efforts to allow aid to enter Gaza, even as foreign ministers of 25 Western nations issued a condemnation of Israel for "drip feeding" aid into the strip. The health ministry in the territory said that more than 1,000 people have been killed seeking humanitarian relief there since late May.
"The president is the reason that aid is even being distributed in Gaza at all," Leavitt argued. "He wants to see this done in a peaceful manner, where more lives are not being lost."
"It's a very difficult and complicated situation that the president inherited because of the weakness of the last administration. And I think he should be applauded," Leavitt said.
"The president wants to see peace and he's been pretty clear on that."
- CNN
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