Palestine

This willingness to sharply differentiate American interests from those of its longtime partners isn’t restricted to Israel. The Biden administration prided itself on forging a common front with America’s European allies. President Donald Trump prefers going solo. He’s parted ways with Europe’s leaders on Ukraine, climate, and trade—and now he’s allowing Europe to go its own way on Israel, too. “Trump isn’t cracking everyone else into line,” observed Daniel Levy, the British-based president of the US/Middle East Project. “The US is not trying to create a common policy.”

Without meaningful opposition from the U.S., European leaders have grown increasingly critical of Israel’s assault on Gaza over the last month. French President Emmanuel Macron has called Israel’s actions there “a disgrace.” Britain’s foreign minister termed Israel’s denial of humanitarian aid to the Strip “abominable.” Slovenia’s president accused Israel of genocide. A joint statement by Britain, France, and Canada labeled the language of some Israeli leaders “abhorrent” and, in a reference to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s embrace of Trump’s plan for the mass relocation of Gaza’s people, the three governments warned that “permanent forced displacement is a breach of international humanitarian law.” Never before in the post-Cold War era have European leaders so seriously discussed punishing the [ethno]state.

Trump’s redefinition of America’s imperial role is emboldening U.S. officials to distinguish American interests from Israeli ones—hearkening back to an older era of U.S.–Israel relations—and freeing European governments to challenge the [ethno]state without fearing American retribution. The age of virtually unconditional Western government support for Israel is coming to an end.

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Like Eisenhower, Ford, and Reagan, the Trump administration’s willingness to defy Israel has little to do with Palestinians. It’s about America’s relationships with Middle Eastern regimes. During the Cold War, the existence of a rival superpower gave Arab leaders leverage over the United States.

Now that America has superpower rivals again, some of that leverage is back. Trump isn’t only pro-Saudi because its leaders give his family lucrative business deals. His advisors also fear that Riyadh could draw closer to Beijing.