[🇮🇱] Israel and the USA Relation

[Saif]

Date of Event: Feb 3, 2025

Source : https://www.thedailystar.net/news/world/news/israeli-pm-travels-us-talks-3814686 Short Summary: Monitoring relation between Israel and the USA

Israeli PM travels to US for talks
One Palestinian killed in Israeli raid in West Bank

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday left for the United States where he will become the first foreign leader to meet Donald Trump since the US president returned to office.

His visit comes as a fragile truce holds between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both groups are backed by Iran. Netanyahu will begin talks on a second phase to the Gaza ceasefire, his office said.

Before boarding his flight, Netanyahu said the pair would discuss "victory over Hamas, achieving the release of all our hostages and dealing with the Iranian terror axis". Netanyahu spoke with the US President's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday and agreed that ceasefire negotiations would "begin when they meet in Washington".

Netanyahu's office said Witkoff would talk to Qatar and Egypt, key mediators, before discussing with the Israeli premier "steps to advance the negotiations, including dates for delegations to leave for talks".

Meanwhile, Palestinian health ministry said one person was killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank yesterday. The Israeli military launched a major offensive in the area last month dubbed "Iron Wall" aimed at rooting out Palestinian groups from the Jenin area.​

 

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US approves $7.4b arms sale to Israel

The United States on Friday announced the approval of the sale of more than $7.4 billion in bombs, missiles and related equipment to Israel, which has used American-made weapons to devastating effect during the war in Gaza.

www.newagebd.net

US approves $7.4b arms sale to Israel
Agence France-Presse . Washington, United States 08 February, 2025, 22:38

The United States on Friday announced the approval of the sale of more than $7.4 billion in bombs, missiles and related equipment to Israel, which has used American-made weapons to devastating effect during the war in Gaza.

The state department has signed off on the sale of $6.75 billion in bombs, guidance kits and fuses, in addition to $660 million in Hellfire missiles, according to the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency.

The proposed sale of the bombs ‘improves Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats, strengthen its homeland defence, and serves as a deterrent to regional threats,’ DSCA said in a statement.

And the missile sale would ‘improve Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats by improving the ability of the Israeli air force to defend its borders, vital infrastructure, and population centres,’ it said.

Israel launched a hugely destructive offensive against Hamas in Gaza in October 2023 in response to an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian militant group that month.

The war has devastated much of Gaza—a narrow coastal territory on the Mediterranean—resulting in the displacement of much of its population, but a ceasefire has been in effect since last month, bringing a halt to the deadly conflict and providing for the release of hostages seized by Hamas.

In response to concerns over civilian deaths, then-president Joe Biden’s administration blocked a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel—larger than those in the latest proposed sale—but his successor Donald Trump reportedly approved the shipment after returning to office.

While the state department has approved the sale of the bombs and missiles, the transactions still need to be approved by Congress, which is unlikely to block the provision of the weapons to Washington’s closest ally in the Middle East.​

 

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US approves $3b arms, bulldozers sale to Israel

The United States on Friday announced the approval of the sale of more than $3 billion in munitions, bulldozers and related equipment to Israel, which used American-made weapons to devastating effect in densely populated Gaza.

www.newagebd.net

US approves $3b arms, bulldozers sale to Israel
Agence France-Presse . Washington, United States 01 March, 2025, 23:28

The United States on Friday announced the approval of the sale of more than $3 billion in munitions, bulldozers and related equipment to Israel, which used American-made weapons to devastating effect in densely populated Gaza.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio signed off on the sales of $2.04 billion in bomb bodies and warheads, another $675.7 million in other bomb bodies and guidance kits, and $295 million in bulldozers and related equipment, the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency said.

Rubio ‘has determined and provided detailed justification that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the government of Israel of the above defence articles and defence services in the national security interests of the United States,’ DSCA said.

That results in the waiver of the usual requirement that such sales be approved by Congress, it said.

‘The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defence capability,’ DSCA added.

The latest weapons transactions come after Washington approved the sales of more than $7.4 billion in bombs, missiles and related equipment to Israel earlier this month.

Israel launched a hugely destructive offensive against Hamas in Gaza in October 2023 in response to an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian militant group that month.

The war devastated much of Gaza—a narrow coastal territory on the Mediterranean—resulting in the displacement of much of its population, but a ceasefire has been in effect since last month, bringing a halt to the deadly conflict and providing for the release of hostages seized by Hamas.

In response to concerns over civilian deaths, then-president Joe Biden’s administration blocked a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel last year. But his successor Donald Trump has rolled back that decision, and the sales announced Friday include weapons of that size.​

 

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Netanyahu dragging US into disaster in region: Iran

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday accused Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of attempting to drag the United States into ‘disaster’ in the Middle East, warning against any attempt to attack Iran.

www.newagebd.net

Netanyahu dragging US into disaster in region: Iran
Agence France-Presse . Tehran 05 May, 2025, 22:44

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi. | AFP file photo

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday accused Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of attempting to drag the United States into ‘disaster’ in the Middle East, warning against any attempt to attack Iran.

‘Netanyahu is directly MEDDLING within the US Government to DRAG it into another DISASTER in our region,’ Araghchi said on X, warning against ‘ANY mistake against Iran’.

Araghchi also accused Netanyahu of ‘attempting to brazenly DICTATE what president Trump can and cannot do in his diplomacy with Iran’.

Iran’s top diplomat cited US support for Israel in its war in Gaza against Palestinian group Hamas since the unprecedented October 2023 attack by the militants.

It also referred to the US retaliatory strikes against the Tehran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen, whose attacks have targeted Washington’s ally Israel and Red Sea shipping.

‘LETHAL support for Netanyahu’s Genocide in Gaza and waging WAR on behalf of Netanyahu in Yemen have achieved NOTHING for the American people,’ he said.

On Sunday, Netanyahu blamed Iran and vowed retaliation after the Huthis launched a missile which struck near Israel’s Ben Gurion’s airport.

Iran denied any role in the attack.

Araghchi’s remarks also came after the latest round of nuclear talks with the US, which were meant for May 3, were delayed with mediator Oman citing ‘logistical reasons.’

The two countries have held three rounds since April 12, their highest-level contact since Washington withdrew from a landmark deal with Tehran in 2018, during Donald Trump’s first term as US president.

Netanyahu has called for dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme, saying a credible deal must ‘remove Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons’ and prevent the development of ballistic missiles.

On Sunday, Trump said he would only accept ‘the total dismantlement’ of Iran’s nuclear programme, but also signalled openness to discussing one for civilian use.

‘Now, there’s a new theory going out there that Iran would be allowed to have civilian (programme) -- meaning to make electricity,’ he told NBC News, adding that he ‘would be open to hearing’ the argument.

Tehran has consistently denied that it was seeking atomic weapons, insisting that its atomic programme is solely for civilian purposes.

Araghchi reiterated that if the goal was for Iran to not have a nuclear weapon, ‘a deal is achievable and there is only ONE PATH to achieve it: DIPLOMACY based on MUTUAL RESPECT and MUTUAL INTERESTS.’​

 

[Saif]

As Trump heads to the Gulf, Israel asks where it stands

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 militar

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

As Trump heads to the Gulf, Israel asks where it stands
REUTERS
Published :
May 12, 2025 20:06
Updated :
May 12, 2025 20:06

US President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the entrance of the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 7, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Leah Millis/Files

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 US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, after talks between Washington and Hamas that did not include Israel.

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 Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, days after a Houthi missile hit near 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.

One Israeli official said Trump's announcement on the Houthis was "kind of an embarrassment" and that the president acts "for good and for bad".

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

One senior official in Netanyahu's circle, who declined to be identified by name said there was "chaos" in the Trump administration, with everything dependent on what the president decided at any given moment. Sometimes that helped Israel and sometimes it did not, the official said.

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

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

"We coordinate. It doesn't mean you must fully agree 100 per cent on every issue," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday. "The US is a sovereign state. Israel is a sovereign state. But I believe we have a very, very big common ground of positions with this administration, more than in the past."

In March, Trump's hostage negotiator, Adam Boehler, held what Hamas described as "very helpful" meetings with the Palestinian militant group that bypassed Israel and focused on releasing Alexander.

Last week, US ambassador Mike Huckabee denied Trump was distancing himself from Israel. He said the relationship was often described as ironclad and "that word is still operative."

"The president has been consistent in his support and his partnership and I have no reason to believe that that won't continue," he said.

"CHAOS"

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 the two allies 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 said.

"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.

Israel has relied on US military and diplomatic support since its creation as an independent state in 1948. Any weakening of US interest, as Israel faces international pressure over the Gaza war, would be a severe blow.

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 Bahrein, 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.

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

By contrast Trump, in his first term, defied world opinion by moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, which Israel regards as its capital, and recognised Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights, which it seized in the 1967 Middle East war.

Israeli officials have said previously that they were aware there were risks for Israel in a president as unpredictable as Trump and one who has shown no compunction in turning on historic US allies.

"But we don't have a choice," said one.​