Israeli aggression appears to be vexing the Trump Administration.<\/p>\n
The White House said Monday that President Donald Trump had not approved of Israel\u2019s airstrikes on Syria last week, which reportedly continued even after the U.S. had told<\/a> Israel to \u201cstand down\u201d after Israel bombed Syrian tanks on Tuesday. Israel launched new airstrikes<\/a> on Damascus on Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding dozens of others.\u00a0<\/p>\n Israel said<\/a> its strikes were aimed at \u201cprotecting\u201d the Syrian Druze community<\/a> after days of clashes between members of the Druze militia and Bedouin tribes as well as Syrian military intervention. At the same time, Israel\u2019s government said<\/a> the strikes were in retaliation for Syrian troops entering a region in southern Syria that Israel had unilaterally declared<\/a> a demilitarized zone. The Syrian government has rejected that claim and repeatedly condemned Israeli military action towards Syria, including in recent months the seizure of Syrian territory<\/a> and multiple airstrikes<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Trump Administration brokered a cease-fire between Israel and Syria, U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said<\/a> on Friday, but some within the Administration have grown restive over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s recalcitrance, Axios reported<\/a> on Sunday. \u201cBibi acted like a madman. He bombs everything all the time,\u201d one official told the outlet. \u201cThis could undermine what Trump is trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump was \u201ccaught off guard by the bombing in Syria and also the bombing of the Catholic Church in Gaza,\u201d White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters<\/a> on Monday, although she added that Trump \u201cenjoys a good working relationship with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and stays in frequent communication with him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn both cases, the President quickly called the [Israeli] Prime Minister to rectify these situations,\u201d Leavitt added.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s strikes on Syria and a Catholic Church in Gaza came after Netanyahu\u2019s visit to Washington<\/a> earlier this month, which appeared to signal progress towards a Gaza cease-fire deal<\/a> even as critics have worried that a Trump-mediated cease-fire<\/a> would involve the removal of Palestinians<\/a> and redevelopment of the Gaza Strip under U.S. and\/or Israeli control<\/a>.<\/p>\n Clemens Chay, a research fellow at the National University of Singapore\u2019s Middle East Institute, tells TIME that Trump has emboldened Israel by backing it militarily<\/a> even as Israel has put at risk many U.S. goals, including by bombing Iran<\/a> when Tehran was in the midst of nuclear talks with Washington<\/a> and now bombing Syria after Trump had earlier signalled a desire to improve relations with the country by lifting U.S. sanctions<\/a>.<\/p>\n Netanyahu likely took Trump\u2019s \u201cvague response to any military action as a \u2018go-ahead,\u2019\u201d Chay says. \u201cThe U.S. President is well-known for vacillating in his positions towards various foreign policy issues, but the Israeli Prime Minister is now\u2014following U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear [facilities]\u2014confident in his own ability of being the \u2018Trump whisperer.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTrump is continuing the failed policies of his predecessors by ceding the initiative to Israel,\u201d Jon Hoffman, a foreign policy analyst at the Cato Institute, posted<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n Even so, Israel depends critically on U.S. support: \u201cIt is not surprising that Israel signs a cease-fire when the United States applies real pressure, because they could not pursue any conflict, in Iran or in Gaza, without the continual supply of weapons, ammunition, and military tech from the United States,\u201d William Figueroa, an assistant professor of international relations at the University of Groningen, previously told<\/a> TIME. \u201cWhen the person signing the checks says they really mean it, you listen.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the first time Israel has gambled that the U.S. would back it despite going against the Trump Administration\u2019s advice. While Netanyahu has managed to sustain U.S. support, in part by \u201cstroking Mr Trump\u2019s ego\u201d with a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize<\/a> and by allowing Trump to \u201cclaim victory\u201d over brokering cease-fires in the Middle East, Chay says, Israel\u2019s continued actions risk not only being seen as \u201can overstepping of boundaries by Trump officials, but worse, also as a form of unchecked Israeli military power by regional states.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s strikes on Syria<\/p>\n Israel reportedly<\/a> agreed on Tuesday to stand down at Barrack\u2019s request in order for the U.S. to negotiate a peace deal. But the next day, Israel escalated its attacks, bombing Syria\u2019s military headquarters and a facility near the presidential palace.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bombing in Syria caught the President and the White House by surprise. The President doesn\u2019t like turning on the television and seeing bombs dropped in a country he is seeking peace in and made a monumental announcement to help rebuild,\u201d one official told Axios.<\/p>\n Another official suggested that the Israeli government was harming its reputation among the Trump Administration. \u201cThe Israelis need to get their head out of their asses,\u201d the official told Axios.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, an Israeli official told Axios that Trump had not indicated concerns about Israeli intervention in Syria and had even supported Israeli action in Syria during his first few weeks in office.<\/p>\n Bombing of Catholic church in Gaza<\/p>\n Israel also came under fire after striking on Thursday the Holy Family Church in Gaza City,<\/a> killing three people and wounding others who were sheltering there. The news shook<\/a> the Catholic community around the world. Before his death, Pope Francis had held daily calls with the parish<\/a>\u2014Gaza\u2019s only Catholic church. Francis\u2019 successor<\/a>, Pope Leo XIV posted on X<\/a> that he was \u201cdeeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury\u201d and reiterated the need for an immediate cease-fire.<\/p>\n The news also angered the Trump Administration. Leavitt said<\/a> Thursday that Trump did not have a \u201cpositive reaction\u201d to the attack and that he \u201ccalled Prime Minister Netanyahu this morning to address the strikes on that church in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n Netanyahu said<\/a> in a Thursday statement that Israel \u201cdeeply regrets that a stray ammunition\u201d hit the church, calling it a mistake. He said Israel was \u201cinvestigating the incident and remains committed to protecting civilians and holy sites.\u201d<\/p>\n The Israel Defense Forces said<\/a> in a later statement that \u201can initial inquiry into reports regarding injured individuals in the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, suggests that fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area hit the church mistakenly. The cause of the incident is under review.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s military added, \u201cThe IDF directs its strikes solely at military targets and makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and religious structures, and regrets any unintentional damage caused to them.\u201d Gazans, journalists and humanitarian organizations have recorded<\/a> numerous Israeli attacks<\/a> on civilian<\/a>, religious<\/a>, and aid sites<\/a> over the course of the two-year war.<\/p>\n Murder of Palestinian American by Israeli settlers<\/p>\n The July 11 murder of Palestinian American Saif Musallet by a mob of Israeli settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank has also incited backlash from the U.S. government. Musallet\u2019s family told<\/a> CBS News that he had been visiting his family\u2019s land in the town of Sinjil when he was surrounded and beaten by settlers for over three hours. The settlers blocked an ambulance and paramedics from reaching him, his family said. Musallet\u2019s brother eventually carried him to an ambulance, but he died before reaching the hospital.<\/p>\n In a rare albeit tempered criticism of Israel, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who is known to be an outspoken ally of Israeli settlers<\/a>, called<\/a> the attack a \u201ccriminal and terrorist act.\u201d Huckabee said he asked Israel to \u201caggressively investigate\u201d Mussallet\u2019s murder. \u201cSaif was just 20 yrs old,\u201d Huckabee added. The IDF told<\/a> CBS News last week that \u201ca joint investigation was launched by the Israel Police and the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division.\u201d<\/p>\n The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Thameen Al-Kheetan sounded the alarm on rising violence by Israeli settlers and security forces in the West Bank. \u201cIsrael must immediately stop these killings, harassment and home demolitions across the occupied Palestinian territory,\u201d Al-Kheetan said<\/a> last week. \u201cAs the occupying power, Israel must take all feasible measures to ensure public order and safety in the West Bank. It is under the obligation to protect Palestinians from settler attacks and to end the unlawful use of force by its security forces. There must be thorough, independent and transparent investigations into all killings and all other alleged violations of international law. Those responsible must be held to account.\u201d<\/p>\n Huckabee also visited<\/a> the Christian community of Taybeh in the West Bank on Saturday after a church was reportedly attacked and vandalized by Israeli settlers<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cTo commit an act of sacrilege by desecrating a place that is supposed to be a place of worship, it is an act of terror, and it is a crime. There should be consequences, and it should be harsh consequences because it is one of the last bastions of our civilization, the places where we worship,\u201d Huckabee said in a statement<\/a>. He later clarified<\/a> on X that he did not attribute the cause of the arson attack on the church to anyone.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s post-cease-fire strikes on Iran<\/p>\n Israel came under fire directly from Trump in June when it continued to trade strikes<\/a> with Iran within hours of the U.S. President publicly announcing a cease-fire<\/a>. Trump\u2019s cease-fire came after nearly two weeks of attacks<\/a> between Israel and Iran that the U.S. even joined militarily<\/a>, bombing three key Iranian nuclear facilities<\/a>, despite Trump\u2019s longtime professed aversion to military entanglement.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not happy with Iran, but I\u2019m really not happy with Israel,\u201d Trump told reporters<\/a> on June 24, characterizing an Iranian missile strike that Israel cited as reason to retaliate as \u201cone rocket that didn\u2019t land anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIsrael, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I\u2019ve never seen before,\u201d Trump added.<\/p>\n The President also posted<\/a> on Truth Social the same day: \u201cISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!\u201dNetanyahu appeared to heed Trump\u2019s warning at the time, as the fragile cease-fire appeared to hold<\/a> and the Israeli leader\u2019s friendship with Trump seemed stronger than ever<\/a>. But as the Trump Administration may be tiring of focusing attention on addressing issues created by Israel, whether Netanyahu will again come near or even cross a red line for Trump remains an open question.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israeli aggression appears to be vexing the Trump Administration. 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