Senior Israeli officials believe US President Donald Trump is “very disappointed” with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and frustrated that the ongoing political stalemate has significantly delayed the unveiling of Washington’s long-awaited Middle East peace plan, according to a report Sunday.
Israel has been stuck in a political deadlock for some seven months, after two successive rounds of elections failed to produce a clear winner. US officials, who were reportedly readying to roll out the plan earlier this year, have said they are waiting until an Israeli government is formed to release the peace proposal.
The Americans “are frustrated and in despair due to Israeli politics and the political crisis, which has been preventing them for many months from presenting the diplomatic part of the ‘deal of the century,'” an Israeli official who has been in contact with senior members of the Trump administration told the Ynet news website.
The official added that the current situation “is creating frustration, bewilderment and anger” in Washington.
On Tuesday, Trump jokingly ranted about Israel’s political chaos in a speech to an Orthodox Jewish group.
“What kind of a system is it over there, right, with Bibi and…? They are all fighting and fighting,” Trump said in New York City. ”
“We have different kinds of fights. At least we know who the boss is. They keep having elections and nobody is elected,” he quipped, eliciting laughter.
Behind the laughter, Trump was described as “very disappointed with Netanyahu and is speaking negatively about him,” the official said.
Though the two were once close allies who touted their friendship to their respective bases, ties between Netanyahu and Trump have been seen as cooling in recent months as the Israeli premier has struggled to cling to power.
According to unnamed officials cited in the report, Trump decided to distance himself from Netanyahu after the latter failed to form a government in the aftermath of the April elections, and refrained from helping him on the campaign trail of the September election.
Shortly before the April vote Trump invited Netanyahu to the White House, where he recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and also declared Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terror organization, in moves widely believed to be designed to boost the incumbent leader. READ MORE
