President Trump and his top advisers apparently had a stern talking-to with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Israel’s policies in the occupied West Bank during their meeting Monday.
According to Axios, the administration is worried that Israel’s escalating violence could undermine the Gaza peace agreement and torpedo Abraham Accords expansion before Trump’s term ends—but not worried enough to actually do anything.
WHAT’S GOING ON: Trump and his team raised concerns about Israeli settler violence against Palestinian civilians, the Palestinian Authority’s financial instability, and Israeli settlement expansion.
Their message? Changing course is “critical” to repair Israel’s relations with European countries. “Netanyahu spoke very strongly against settler violence and said he is going to take more action,” a source told Axios.
Sound familiar? It should. Because this is the same Netanyahu whose hard-right government has spent three years actively weakening the Palestinian Authority, starving it of funds, dramatically expanding settlements, legalizing outposts, forcibly displacing Palestinian communities, and marching steadily toward de-facto annexation.
BUT BUT BUT: Here’s the thing about “asking” Netanyahu to do anything—asking is all anyone ever does. The U.S. sends Israel billions in military aid annually. We could condition that aid on, say, not committing what human rights organizations have called war crimes in the West Bank. We could suspend weapons shipments. We could impose actual consequences.
Instead, Trump lifted Biden-era sanctions against violent settlers and appointed Mike Huckabee—a man whose pro-settler views are so extreme they make Netanyahu look moderate—as ambassador to Israel.
Since then, two Palestinian Americans have been killed in settler attacks. Huckabee has reportedly “tried to get the Israeli government to modify some of its policies, without much progress.” (SURPRISE.)
OF COURSE: Trump refused to specify his disagreements with Netanyahu, offering only: “He will do the right thing. I know that. I know him very well.”
Beyond the West Bank conversation, Trump was “highly complimentary” of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and toward Iran. Because apparently you can express concern about one set of atrocities while praising others in the same breath.
WHY IT MATTERS: This is what hollow diplomacy looks like. World leaders “express concern” and “ask” for changes while continuing to provide the weapons, money, and political cover that enable the very policies they claim to oppose.
Netanyahu knows the settler lobby is his political base. He knows there are no real consequences coming from Washington. A stern talking-to costs him nothing.
BOTTOM LINE: When you ask a bully to please stop hitting someone while handing them a baseball bat, you’re not actually opposed to the hitting. You just want credit for pretending to care.