President Donald Trump is stopping short of endorsing Benjamin Netanyahu as his campaign faces setbacks, according to reporting that underscores both personal regard and mounting political frustration. Two senior U.S. officials told Axios that Trump likes Netanyahu on an individual level but has become frustrated with Netanyahu’s decisions and policies, with Trump describing him as “his own worst enemy,” a characterization relayed by people who spoke with the president recently. The nuance—admiration coupled with hesitation—signals a carefully calibrated approach as Israelis head toward another phase of domestic political contestation and as Washington’s wider regional diplomatic agenda hangs in the balance News Source.
Behind the scenes, Netanyahu’s political rivals in Israel are reportedly trying to prevent Trump from becoming a de facto campaign backer for the incumbent prime minister. Several opposition figures—including Moshe Eizenkot, as well as former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid—have expressed concern that Trump will endorse Netanyahu, according to two of their aides, who told Axios that these worries have been communicated to the Trump orbit. The outreach, described as back-channel, was reportedly routed through mutual friends, donors, and other political allies—reflecting a broader effort by Netanyahu’s challengers to keep Washington neutral through the election season News Source.
The stakes are not limited to who occupies office in Jerusalem. Trump’s team, the reporting says, is preoccupied with a multi-track diplomatic push that would require stability in Israel’s political leadership and sustained progress across several fronts. In particular, Trump wants to advance a Gaza peace plan, make progress in negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, and work toward a security agreement between Israel and Syria. But the most consequential objective is also framed as the “historic” prize: brokering a peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia—an outcome that would reshape regional alignments and elevate U.S. diplomatic leverage News Source.
The reported hesitation is shaped by Trump’s memory of the diplomatic disruption caused by Israel’s 2019 political crisis. That episode, Axios notes, culminated in three consecutive elections and ultimately produced a lost year for Middle East diplomacy—an experience that has left Trump and his team “traumatized,” according to the same accounts. As a result, the decision whether to endorse Netanyahu is not merely rhetorical; it could influence perceptions of U.S. commitment, alter domestic Israeli calculations, and affect whether Washington can keep its momentum on time-sensitive negotiations News Source.
Even as Trump weighs endorsement politics, conditions on the ground in Israel and the occupied West Bank continue to generate international pressure and human distress. Reuters reported that Israel sent additional troops into West Bank homes that were under siege by Jewish settlers. Palestinians trapped inside appealed for aid, pleading for food and medicine, while the Israeli military and police were said to have moved at the request of the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee. Huckabee characterized the actions against the families’ home as “criminal,” saying the military and police had gone to remove the “Israeli terrorists” responsible Reuters.
Reuters described how the broader context includes growing pressure on the Israeli military to rein in what critics call “rogue land seizures” by settlers. The dispute is framed as occurring in a West Bank environment shaped by a right-wing government led by Netanyahu, which Reuters says has pursued a rapid expansion of settlements. The report also cited allegations that settlers damaged property, threw stones at homes, and used insulting language, while Israeli forces said they were trying to disperse settlers from the area and that disciplinary action would follow for any personnel involved Reuters.
Such incidents complicate Washington’s diplomatic ambitions by creating friction points that can overshadow negotiations. While the Axios account emphasizes that Trump wants to move forward on Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and potentially Saudi-Israel steps, Israel’s internal politics and the security environment are closely watched signals of how durable any agreements might be. Netanyahu’s opponents, meanwhile, appear to be trying to prevent any U.S. endorsement from reinforcing the incumbent’s political standing in a period when U.S.-Israeli alignment can affect domestic legitimacy and coalition-building News Source.
The U.S. calculation is also influenced by perceptions of American diplomatic capacity in the wider region. Separate reporting from the Washington Post says frustration is growing among U.S. Persian Gulf allies, with officials—including Arab and Western sources—worrying that Trump is unable to manage the diplomacy necessary to secure peace with Iran. While the Saudi-Israel track remains central to Trump’s vision, the Iran question is a reminder that regional peace efforts are interconnected and that allies are assessing whether Washington can sustain complex negotiations amid competing crises The Washington Post.
In that context, neutrality in the Israeli election could be a strategic choice designed to preserve flexibility: avoiding a direct endorsement might reduce the odds of being blamed for domestic outcomes or of being pulled into a partisan Israeli narrative at a moment when Washington wants to focus on diplomacy. But staying neutral also requires credibility with all sides—Israeli leaders, opposition figures, and regional partners—especially if Trump’s Gaza and broader security plans depend on cooperative Israeli leadership and on clear commitments to negotiation pathways. For Netanyahu’s rivals, keeping Trump from endorsing him is an attempt to prevent Washington from hardening the politics of the election; for Trump, withholding endorsement is portrayed as consistent with both personal reservations and an institutional lesson from 2019’s diplomatic fallout News Source.
Ultimately, the decision may come down to what Trump can credibly deliver and what he believes he needs from Israel. With Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and the prospect of an Israeli-Saudi breakthrough all outlined as priorities, the president’s next moves—public or private—could shape not only the election’s messaging but the pace and perceived viability of the broader U.S. diplomatic agenda across the Middle East News Source.
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