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President Trump is reshaping the Middle East very quickly. He's striking deals with many countries and leaving one absolutely stunned. NPR's Daniel Estrin reports from Tel Aviv.
DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: When President Trump announced his decision this week to lift sanctions from Syria, Israelis couldn't believe it. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked Trump not to lift sanctions, Israeli media widely reported. Former military intelligence chief Tamir Hayman, on Israeli Army Radio, said Trump's move totally surprised Israel.
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TAMIR HAYMAN: (Non-English language spoken).
ESTRIN: He said it didn't come with any promises of strategic gains between Syria and Israel. Consider these other recent deals without Israel at the table - a U.S. truce with the Houthi rebels in Yemen, with no Houthi commitment to stop attacking Israel; a U.S. hostage deal with Hamas, with no Hamas commitment to release the other Israeli hostages; a U.S. arms deal with Saudi Arabia, with no Saudi commitment to open ties with Israel. The one regional deal President Trump has not been able to land is a Gaza ceasefire. Dan Shapiro is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and former U.S. ambassador to Israel.
DAN SHAPIRO: There are signs that Trump actually just wants a deal to end the war, and so when he sees opportunities to make progress on other matters, he's not going to be delayed by Netanyahu's well-known foot dragging. And Israelis are understandably unnerved by this approach from President Trump, which is quite different from his approach toward Israel in his first term.
ESTRIN: During Trump's first term in office, he tipped the scales in Israel's favor and away from Palestinians in all kinds of diplomatic gestures. When Trump returned to the White House this year, Netanyahu was the first world leader to visit him.
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PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: I deeply value your friendship.
ESTRIN: But then Netanyahu was summoned to the White House again last month, and Trump made a surprise announcement Netanyahu did not want to hear.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We're dealing with the Iranians. We have a very big meeting on Saturday, and we're dealing with them directly.
ESTRIN: Netanyahu wanted Trump to support a military strike on Iran, but Trump has been pursuing a diplomatic deal over its nuclear program. Former Ambassador Shapiro says this is the one deal that could lead Israel and the U.S. to a major crossroads.
SHAPIRO: Israel has always defined a deal that lets Iran continue the right to enrich uranium - and especially given how the program has advanced in recent years - as an existential threat that might require Israel to act on its own militarily. Israel would really find it very difficult to act on its own militarily if the United States opposed it, but that could be a major breaking point between the two countries.
ESTRIN: Shapiro says Netanyahu used to be able to play U.S. politics and build a pressure campaign against presidents he clashed with. But he says today, no Republicans or Democrats are able or willing to confront Trump. Former Israeli intelligence officer Eldad Shavit says Israeli officials must be worried now.
ELDAD SHAVIT: The main reason why they are worried is because they really don't have a leverage on the United States not to go with an agreement that President Trump wants. And Israel cannot do anything, today even more than in the past, because we cannot criticize Trump administration.
ESTRIN: After a glitzy blitz of deal making with wealthy Gulf Arab countries, Trump left the region without a stop in Israel and without a deal resolving Israel's biggest crises. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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