JERUSALEM, July 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a 90-minute meeting at the White House earlier this week, their first face-to-face talks since the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.
Analysts said the Israeli prime minister's visit to the United States was essentially a fence-mending mission, as Israel sought to narrow its increasingly evident differences with Washington over Middle East issues, align their positions, and reinvigorate a partnership that many believe has shown signs of fraying.
WHY NOW?
In recent months, Washington and Jerusalem have found themselves increasingly at odds over a range of regional issues, including whether to continue negotiations with Iran, U.S. military cooperation with Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, and Israel's military operations in Lebanon and Gaza, with senior officials on both sides trading public barbs.
Analysts said Netanyahu's visit came as Jerusalem sought to win Washington over to its positions on key regional issues while keeping their channels of coordination open.
An Israeli official told Israel's Channel 12 News that the meeting was held as Trump was nearing a decision on whether to launch another major attack on Iran, an option Israel has continued to push for.
The official said Netanyahu presented Trump with the Israeli assessment that there is no escape from carrying out additional strikes on Iran's "rehabilitated nuclear facilities" and targets that could shake Iran's political stability.
Beyond Iran, the meeting also focused on a series of regional issues on which the two allies have struggled to see eye to eye, including the situation in Gaza, efforts to advance a settlement along the Israel-Lebanon border, and the possible U.S. sale of F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye.
Domestic political considerations also appeared to shape the timing of the visit. Channel 12 noted that Netanyahu had been pressing for weeks to hold the meeting, amid his poor standing in most opinion polls ahead of the country's Oct. 27 general election.
Eyal Zisser, an expert on Middle Eastern affairs at Tel Aviv University, told Xinhua that Trump was not very eager to meet Netanyahu.
"Netanyahu is heading toward an election, so it was important for him to make sure that Trump would not surprise him, humiliate him, or damage his campaign," he said.
Barak Seri, an analyst for Channel 12 and Israel's 103 FM Radio, said Netanyahu must show Israeli voters that he and Trump remain on good terms, "especially after the insults and curses the U.S. president has directed at him in recent months."
He added that Netanyahu knows that close relations with any U.S. president are a great political asset, particularly before elections.
WHERE U.S.-ISRAELI RELATIONS ARE HEADED
Despite the current frictions, both sides appeared to put a positive spin on the meeting, with Netanyahu describing the talks as "excellent," and Trump writing on social media that it was a "good meeting."
Observers said this, to some extent, reflected the resilience of the U.S.-Israeli partnership.
Assaf Meydani, an expert in public policy and law at the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yafo, told Xinhua that the alliance between the United States and Israel remains one of the strongest strategic partnerships, based on shared interests in areas such as security, intelligence, and technology.
"Therefore, the current disagreements do not necessarily represent a fundamental crisis in the alliance but rather reflect differences regarding preferred policies and the management of regional challenges," he said.
Zisser shared a similar assessment, noting that despite the current tension between the two countries, the relationship is deep and strategic. "Everybody knows that cooperation, especially in the military and intelligence dimensions, is crucial."
He added that in the short term, there may be tensions and disagreements, with the relationship potentially focusing on military cooperation and intelligence sharing, rather than close meetings and joint decision-making.
Taken as a whole, analysts believe the meeting underscored both the durability of the U.S.-Israeli alliance and the challenges it faces.
The alliance's long-term trajectory, they said, would depend on how effectively Washington and Jerusalem can strike a balance between navigating mounting regional challenges and domestic political pressures, while preserving their partnership. ■
