It all started months ago when I saw a clip on X of Trump and Netanyahu on stage together at the White House. The American president said he wanted to take control of Gaza, expel the Gazans, and rebuild the strip into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
My first expression was revulsion at the idea of the Americans wasting their time and energy to ethnically cleanse a country that they have no business being involved with, and then I saw the look on Netanyahu’s face. He wasn’t happy and clearly had not been consulted about this idea prior to Trump’s statement and I found that incredibly interesting. This was the first time I asked myself if Trump was trying to sabotage the US-Israel alliance and since then I have come to believe the answer is unequivocally “Yes He Is!”
I know some Americans will object, namely because their president is engaged in a plethora of odd actions to police anti-Israel activities on university campuses, but I am not an expert in what goes on within the halls of America dorms nor do I particularly care to dive into it.
What I do care about is American foreign policy. Israel and Israeli lobbies have an outsized influence on American foreign policy which has an incredibly outsized influence on the foreign policy of my own country of Britain.
After his initial proposal to annex the Gaza strip many Arab countries have come to the negotiating table to present ideas to rebuild and govern Gaza in a post-conflict era. In late February Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain met to discuss a unified proposal for rebuilding Gaza.
Egypt later presented a proposal backed by the other aforementioned Arab states and those states pledged $53 billion to rebuild the Gaza Strip without displacing the native Palestinians. Israel reacted negatively to the plan but the Trump administration’s special envoy to the region said the plan has “compelling features” and apparently discussions are ongoing.
A day after the Arab states presented their plan to rebuild Gaza the Trump administration began indirect negotiations with Hamas through the Qataris. The Israelis have never been happy about these talks and have violated multiple ceasefires in an attempt to end them. On May 9, 2025 the Israeli outlet Haaretz published an accusatory piece stating that the Trump administration is attempting to pressure Israel into signing a ceasefire and truce in Gaza, and they are likely correct.
The relationship between the United States and Israel appears to be deteriorating quite rapidly.
This comes immediately on the heels of a US truce brokered with the Houthis of Yemen. In response to reported Israeli shock and anger over this truce the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee said: “The US’ isn’t required to get permission from Israel” to negotiate with the Houthis. Many Israeli outlets are reporting that Trump is sidelining Israel and views them as more of a hindrance to regional peace and stability than as a partner contributing to potential stability. Israel has vowed to “defend itself alone” since Trump cut them out of the deal with the Houthis.
Now the Middle East Monitor is reporting that Trump is refusing to communicate with Israeli officials while Axios and other mainstream outlets have reported that American Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth c has canceled a planned trip to Israel and will instead join Trump’s trip to several Gulf Arab states. Trump reportedly refused to visit Israel despite direct lobbying attempts by the Netanyahu government.
And the pile of evidence just keeps getting larger! Trump is now moving forward with a plan for the United States to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza through a series of private foundations and without the involvement of the Israeli government. The US is seeking to have Arab partners fund the non-governmental organisation that will reportedly bring food and other aid into Gaza without Israeli cooperation. There have been other policy changes as well. The United States is currently engaged in civilian use nuclear negotations with Saudia Arabia and had previously demanded that the Arab kingdom formally recognise the existence of Israel and establish diplomatic relations in order to finalise the agreement over nuclear energy. The United States just dropped this requirement. The United States is also going to move forward and ‘unfreeze’ its effort to negotiate with Iran. The two powers will meet in Oman for fresh talks.
Ultimately, I do think the American government is attempting to end or fundamentally alter its relationship with the Jewish state. Trump is treating Israel like a normal country rather than some special case deserving of unique American support and instead is focusing American foreign policy on countries that can provide the United States with tangible benefits and stable partnerships that are not so lopsided.
As a Briton this interests me keenly. My country has followed the United States into countless Middle Eastern engagements and put the lives of countless soldiers at risk in order to sate Israeli regional interests. Islamists have bombed British towns and cities because we have followed America and Israel into these conflagrations time and time again, and British civilians have died in those far away deserts because of our perceived alliance with Israel.
Once the Americans begin to treat Israel like a normal country the rest of the West is very likely to do the same and our poisonous connection with the Middle East will finally begin to fade.