Haaretz: Trump Will Not Turn the United States into a State Under Israel's Patronage

By Aluf Benn

Since the beginning of his second term, Donald Trump has been implementing major changes in American administration, society, the economy, culture, and science. He asserts that he will completely destroy the old arrangements and build a nation that is conservative inwardly and closed outwardly. The revolution he is undertaking affects everything except one: relations with Israel. In this area, the president is following the approach established by his predecessors.

From the moment Harry Truman recognized Israel, the "special relationship" between the two countries began to operate almost invariably. Washington exempted Israel from the issues and standards it imposed on other countries, both friendly and rival: respect for borders, adherence to international humanitarian law, and the prevention of nuclear proliferation. Of course, there were differences between presidents regarding their deviation from Israel's special nature: John F. Kennedy wanted to close the reactor in Dimona; Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama tried to stop the spread of settlements; Ronald Reagan expressed his displeasure over the bombing of Beirut; Joe Biden halted some arms shipments. In all these disputes, Israel insisted on what it wanted, removed the pressure, and, after a while, got what it wanted.

The freedom of action that Israel received from the United States, without adhering to internationally accepted standards and under the auspices of the American veto in the Security Council, did not grant it unlimited influence over American foreign policy. From the founding of the state until today, Washington's rulers have not followed the path desired by Jerusalem, except on the Palestinian issue, which was, and remains, the most important issue for Israel, in terms of its existence, security, and well-being.

The Americans recognized the territorial and demographic consequences of the "War of Independence" [the 1948 War] and did not demand the return of the refugees. After the "Six-Day War" [the June 1967 War], they acquiesced to the ongoing occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, even if they publicly declared that "the settlements are an obstacle to peace." But beyond the borders of the Land of Israel, the Americans have always made clear to Jerusalem, time and again, who is the superpower and who is the state under its protection. They expelled Israel from the Sinai Peninsula once in the Kadesh Campaign [1956] and another time through the peace treaty with Egypt. They prevented the sale of Israeli weapons to China, and they also prevented the bombing of the nuclear reactor in Iran.

When Trump came to power, he broke with the agreements he had with Israel: he moved the US embassy to Jerusalem; recognized the annexation of the Golan Heights; and refrained from insisting on the settlements. During his last week in office, he integrated Israel into the US Central Command's defense zone, effectively creating a defensive military alliance between Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the rest of the moderate states, as a complement to the Abraham Accords. Biden, for his part, did not reverse any of these decisions. He allowed Israel to demolish Gaza after the Hamas attack and to advance the annexation of the West Bank, even if he imposed symbolic sanctions on violent settlers.

When Trump returned to power, hopes were high in Israel, as if Benjamin Netanyahu would gain control of US foreign policy. Very quickly, it became clear that the president had no intention of allowing this. The plan has remained as it always has: Israel does what it wants with the Palestinians and follows Washington's orders everywhere else. Just as before Truman in the first Nakba, now Trump is agreeing to the occupation and ethnic cleansing of Gaza. But he is seeking a deal with Iran, contrary to the prime minister's position, and he even fired the national security advisor who, with Netanyahu, planned to bomb the nuclear reactor. While Trump may be irascible and impulsive, and disregard international law and human rights more than his predecessors, he will not turn the United States into a state under Israel's protection.