Since the beginning of this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right cabinet ministers have maintained complete silence regarding relations with the United States. This coincides with Donald Trump’s first presidential tour, which he deliberately launched as an Arab Gulf visit, starting from the Saudi capital, Riyadh, intentionally excluding Israel from his itinerary. This has only deepened the growing sense of estrangement felt by Israeli leaders toward the American president who, during his first term, gave them unprecedented concessions. Now, however, the current indicators suggest that Trump no longer gives Tel Aviv — or at least its current government — the same importance, nor does he exhibit his customary warmth toward it.

Trump no longer gives Tel Aviv — or at least its current government — the same importance, nor does he exhibit his customary warmth toward it.

There are numerous signs pointing to the fact that the crisis between Washington and Tel Aviv is no longer silent. While the root causes may stem from Trump’s mercurial personality, its manifestations touch upon extremely critical issues for both countries. Since Trump announced that Israel would be subject to the same elevated tariffs on its exports to the United States, the relationship has taken a distinctly downward turn.

When Netanyahu hurriedly visited Washington on April 7, attempting to use his cunning diplomacy to persuade Trump to remove Israel from the tariff list, he was shocked when Trump, in front of the media cameras, announced the resumption of negotiations with the Iranian regime to reach a new nuclear agreement. Netanyahu appeared visibly stunned, unable to react effectively — especially since he had constantly threatened to destroy Iran’s nuclear program and overthrow its regime.

Netanyahu thought he controlled the relationship through his personal rapport with Trump — but reality has hit differently.

This was not the first “misstep” in the relationship Netanyahu thought he controlled due to his close friendship with Trump in the White House. About a month earlier, it had been announced that direct negotiations had taken place between Adam Boehler, Trump’s special envoy for hostage affairs, and Hamas’ senior negotiator, Khalil Al-Hayya, in Doha. The Israeli government, which learned about the negotiations through the media, was infuriated and immediately sought to sabotage any chances of success by escalating military operations on the ground and unleashing an intense media campaign portraying Hamas as making gratuitous concessions if any agreement were reached.

The third event that worried Israel was Trump’s personal announcement of an agreement reached with Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, led by Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi, brokered by Oman. The agreement called for an end to the intense air and missile attacks launched by U.S. forces since mid-March on the group’s positions and leaders, in exchange for the Houthis halting attacks on international shipping and U.S. and Western naval forces in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. This announcement came a day after a Yemeni ballistic missile managed to breach Israel’s defenses and directly hit Ben Gurion Airport. Notably, the agreement did not include a halt to attacks on Israel, which was unaware of the Omani mediation efforts.

Adding to Netanyahu’s woes was the announcement, on the eve of Trump’s Gulf tour, of the success of renewed negotiations between Washington and Hamas, this time led by senior presidential envoy Steve Witkoff. The agreement secured the release of the Israeli American soldier Idan Alexander and further infuriated Netanyahu. He reluctantly complied with the American request to halt his forces’ operations in Gaza for several hours to allow Alexander’s return. In a clear snub, Alexander’s family publicly thanked Trump for his efforts while ignoring Netanyahu and his government.

Alexander’s family publicly thanked Trump while ignoring Netanyahu — a symbolic but cutting dismissal.

This came amid intensifying protests by the families and supporters of other prisoners still held by Hamas, accusing Netanyahu of ignoring their fate and condemning them to death in order to cling to power and appease the extremists within his ruling coalition — especially since he had openly declared that the primary goal of the war on Gaza was to reoccupy the territory and completely eradicate Hamas, with the prisoner issue not being a priority.

Even the preparations for Trump’s tour were aggravating for Netanyahu and his team. Trump refused to include Tel Aviv as a stop on his tour and expressed annoyance at the flood of requests urging him to do so, especially from Congress members aligned with AIPAC and other pro-Israel lobbies. According to media reports, Trump summoned Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer — virtually a Washington resident, having served as ambassador there for eight years — and told him in no uncertain terms that he would not tolerate any Israeli interference in his Gulf tour, and that Netanyahu must cease his attempts to “manipulate him.”

What Trump despises most is anyone trying to control him or his decisions.

Several newspapers and news websites quoted White House sources saying that Trump was fed up with Netanyahu’s maneuvers. Reports also leaked that one reason for the dismissal of former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz was his disclosure of sensitive matters to Netanyahu during his last visit to Washington — something that Tel Aviv quickly denied.

Against this backdrop, Trump fully embraced the lavish Saudi reception he received in Riyadh and Diriyah, enthusiastically promoting unprecedented U.S.-Gulf relations — raising Israeli concerns. The agreements and memoranda of understanding covered all areas, including advanced and strategic armament for Saudi forces, U.S. investments in technology and artificial intelligence sectors and granting Saudi Arabia a peaceful nuclear program, all without linking these steps to normalization with Israel — a “precondition” that former President Biden had insisted upon in any talks about enhancing relations. Trump also emphasized Saudi Arabia’s central role in the future of the region and reaffirmed the Palestinians’ right to a better future. This only deepened Netanyahu’s frustration, as he had previously boasted about his diplomatic “achievements” through the Abraham Accords under Trump’s first term, promising a new Middle East led by Israel.

Trump crowned his disregard for Israel and its government by announcing the lifting of sanctions on Syria — despite Israel’s objections — and meeting with Syria’s new president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, in the presence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Trump was keen to praise Al-Sharaa as a strong and capable leader who could deliver a better future for all Syrians.

This effectively stripped Netanyahu of the presumed authority to dictate Syria’s internal dynamics.

It also signaled that Trump (if not the entire Washington establishment) no longer viewed the Arab region solely through the Israeli lens, and that any regional changes would now consider Arab interests — at least from the Saudi perspective, and in cooperation with Turkey, as Trump himself declared.

Predicting the future is difficult when dealing with a mercurial figure like Trump. However, the differences in his approach this time, compared to his first term, suggest he is standing on much firmer ground, with economic interests dictating the details — details in which Israel is, for the first time in its relationship with the United States, not a direct player. It is likely that Israeli elites will soon have to choose between Netanyahu and his extremist coalition, or their multifaceted strategic and existential interests with the United States.