>Netanyahu Blasts Media 'Spin', Says Trump Ties 'Excellent' - Dispatches Hostage Negotiators
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<"I thanked President Trump for his assistance in the release of IDF soldier Edan Alexander. President Trump, for his part, reiterated his commitment to Israel and his desire to continue close cooperation with me," Netanyahu wrote on social media.
<"In my meeting with Envoy Witkoff and Ambassador Huckabee, we discussed the last-ditch effort to implement the outline for the release of the hostages presented by Witkoff, before the fighting escalates. To this end, I have instructed that a negotiating delegation be sent to Doha tomorrow," Netanyahu added.
<He also said he had informed his US allies "that negotiations would only take place under fire."
<Netanyahu's announcement came a few hours after he rejected reports that a rift exists between him and Trump, calling his relationship with the US president "excellent."
<"These spins – most of them are born here [in Israel.] They’re born in a certain media outlet that’s trying to promote a certain candidate. And in order to promote him, they need to say: 'Trump and Netanyahu are no longer,'" Netanyahu said in a video posted on his X account.
>Trump's Rift With Bibi Might Be Irreconcilable
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<A report circulated last week alleging that Trump cut off all direct contact with Bibi after feeling manipulated by him. For as sensational as it sounds, the larger context suggests that it might be true. For starters, there was bad blood between them s(Hello, I just arrived from Leddit, please bully me)ate 2020 after Trump reportedly felt betrayed by Bibi recognizing Biden’s electoral victory while Trump was still challenging it in the courts.
<This is a very personal issue for him seeing as how he continues to insist that he won so it wouldn’t be surprising.
<More recently, Bibi has been pressuring Trump to bomb Iran, which Trump doesn’t want to do since a large-scale war in West Asia would offset his planned “Pivot (back) to Asia” for containing China. In connection with that, Trump reportedly dismissed former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz due to him supposedly coordinating too closely with Israel. Also of relevance are the rumors that Israel was caught off guard by the US’ resumption of talks with Iran and is against any agreement between them.
<Then there’s the US’ recent deal with the Houthis that excludes Israel, reports that the US will delink Saudi recognition of Israel from their civil nuclear talks, and even speculation that Trump might recognize Palestine during his attendance at next week’s Gulf-US Summit in Riyadh. Altogether, it’s self-evident that US-Israeli ties are newly beset with a host of problems, thus lending credence to the earlier cited report about Trump cutting off all direct contact with Bibi.
<Their rift might even be irreconcilable depending on Trump’s next steps. It was already bad enough from Israel’s perspective that the US reached its own deal with the Houthis right after they announced their plans to impose an air blockade on Israel but delinking Saudi recognition of Israel from their civil nuclear talks, let alone recognizing Palestine, could cross the Rubicon. In that scenario, Israel and the US would remain at odds during the rest of Trump’s term, and perhaps even afterwards if Vance succeeds him.
<The consequences of that happening would widely reverberate throughout the region. Without the continued support of its oldest and most reliable ally, which is still the strongest and most influential country in the world despite the global systemic transition to multipolarity, Israel would be left alone to deal with threats from Iran and Turkiye. To make matters worse, it can’t be ruled out that the US might curtail or even suspend its military aid to Israel on whatever pretext, thus weakening its armed forces.
<This combination of factors could lead to Israel wildly lashing out against its regional adversaries in desperation before it loses its military-strategic advantages, which could spark a large-scale war, or being coerced into a series of compromises that accelerates the loss of these selfsame advantages. From the viewpoint of Israeli interests, this a zero-sum dilemma that it must avoid at all costs, yet Trump’s potentially irreconcilable rift with Bibi could turn this nightmare scenario into a fait accompli.