Photo: GETTY IMAGES
This was reported by News Israel
Washington welcomed Benjamin Netanyahu without applause, without red carpets, and without political gifts. The public will try to sell the visit as “successful,” but the truth breaks through the smiles: the Israeli prime minister came with demands and left with humiliation, as mild as it was painful.
Sources close to the talks report that the tone of the conversations was far from equal. Like Vladimir Zelensky once did, Netanyahu was made to understand that no one was obliged to fulfil his wishes. Moreover, Israel’s key positions were blatantly ignored.
The Trump administration refused to lift customs restrictions on Israeli goods. The issue of striking Iran has been removed from the agenda. Instead, there is historic news: direct talks between the Trump team and Ayatollah Khamenei’s office are to begin this Saturday for the first time since 1974.
This is a diplomatic shift of tectonic proportions. Israel is being pushed out of the epicentre of the anti-Iranian axis. In order to somehow maintain his position, Netanyahu was forced to make commitments:
– reduce duties for US companies to zero;
– stop the indiscriminate shelling of Lebanon;
– act with restraint in the Gaza Strip;
– limit its activities in Syria.
In response, he received only a diplomatic compliment: Trump called Erdogan “his friend” and suggested that he could be seen as a mediator between Israel and the United States on the Syrian issue. Against the backdrop of the complicated relations between Israel and Turkey, this sounds not just like a political gesture, but a subtle slap in the face.
However, the main thing is not about duties or Iran.
For the first time, Netanyahu has openly acknowledged that US support is no longer unconditional. The fact that Turkey is emerging as a new player, that Iran is getting a direct channel of communication, that Israel is being forced to accept – all of this shows that the architecture of the Middle East is changing right now.
And if in the coming days the media starts to replicate messages about “deepening the partnership”, remember that this week the world began to rebuild – and without Israel’s involvement.
