President Donald Trump fired several diplomatic warning shots in the direction of Jerusalem last week, setting a notably tough stage for his Monday meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His public remarks opposing West Bank annexation and a strike in Qatar were clear signals that U.S. patience has its limits.
These comments represented a rare public rebuke of a close ally and were strategically timed to precede the crucial Gaza summit. The warning against annexing the West Bank was a reminder to Netanyahu that there are red lines he should not cross if he wants to maintain U.S. support.
The criticism of the Israeli strike on Hamas members in Qatar was even more pointed. It served as a direct message that Israel’s military actions should not undermine the delicate diplomatic channels that the U.S. is relying on to broker the peace deal. It was Trump telling Netanyahu that the diplomatic track must take precedence.
These warning shots were intended to soften Netanyahu’s position before he even arrived in Washington. They were a form of pre-negotiation, designed to make the Israeli leader more receptive to the comprehensive 21-point plan that Trump would be presenting.
This tougher tone marks a shift in the dynamic of the Trump-Netanyahu relationship. It suggests that Trump is willing to use both the carrot of a historic peace deal and the stick of public criticism to achieve his foreign policy goals. The meeting on Monday will reveal how Netanyahu has responded to these unmistakable signals.