JERUSALEM: Israeli officials have put a brave face on US President Donald Trump bypassing them on a Middle East trip this week, but his decision to do so is the latest to sow doubt in Israel about where it stands in Washington’s priorities.

On Sunday, a few days after announcing plans for an expanded military operation in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it had been informed by the United States of an agreement to release Edan Alexander, a US-Israeli prisoner, after talks between Washington and Hamas that did not include Israel.

The decision to drop the demand for a normalisation deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel, to get past Riyadh’s insistence that Israel agree to moves towards a settlement with the Palestinians, underlined how damaging the issue has been for Israel internationally.

Adding Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which both normalised relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords signed during Trump’s first term, has been a major goal for Netanyahu, but is now seemingly delayed indefinitely.

Washington’s decision to drop pressure on Riyadh to normalise ties with Tel Aviv has angered Israelis

President Trump, who will be visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, also caused consternation in Israel last week by abruptly announcing the US would stop bombing Houthis in Yemen, days after a Houthi missile hit Israel’s main airport.

“The message to the region was clear: Israel is no longer a top US priority,” wrote Itamar Eichner, diplomatic correspondent for Israeli news outlets ynet, echoing media commentators across the political spectrum.

Israel has been talking to the US about the future of Gaza and officials say relations at the official level remain strong, but some officials acknowledge being blindsided by Trump’s decision-making.

The decision on the Houthis, which was not discussed with Israel beforehand, compounded Israeli unease at US talks with Iran over its nuclear programme, which could blunt any Israeli threat of military action against Tehran.

Israel faced further alarm after reports that the US was no longer demanding Saudi Arabia normalise ties with Israel as a condition for progress on civil nuclear cooperation talks.

In March, Trump’s special envoy, Adam Boehler, held what Hamas described as “very helpful” meetings that bypassed Israel and focused on the release of Edan Alexander by the Palestinian group.

Last week, US ambassador Mike Huckabee denied Trump was distancing himself from Israel.

Differing priorities

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government faced criticism on Monday even as Israelis looked forward to Alexander’s release, with a growing perception in the public that Washington and Tel Aviv had differing priorities. “There’s just no leadership now,” said Tel Aviv pensioner Jack Gottlieb. There was “no question” the deal happened behind Netanyahu’s back or that the US and Israeli agendas currently differed, he added.

“Right now, it’s every man for himself,” Gottlieb said.

Netanyahu had little choice but to accept the decision on the Houthis, who signalled they would not stop trying to hit Israel by firing another missile a few days later.

Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, also faced bitter criticism from Israeli hardliners after stopping exports of some heavy munitions used in Gaza and imposing sanctions on violent Jewish settlers in occupied West Bank.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2025