by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] On the morning of July 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington on a working visit. His agenda includes a meeting with President Donald Trump, as well as high-ranking officials and congressmen.
This is the Israeli Prime Minister's second trip to the United States since the Republicans won the election. However, unlike the previous summit, Netanyahu is bringing with him far fewer "trump cards" and far more problems that will have to be solved, including with the participation of the United States.
TO SUM UP
The main purpose of the trip is to discuss the situation around Iran.
Netanyahu makes no secret of his intention to press Trump for “greater decisiveness” in responding to a hypothetical nuclear threat from Tehran.
Moreover, according to Tel Aviv, Iran’s nuclear project has not suffered “irreparable damage,” and the country will be able to restore its previous rate of uranium enrichment within six months at the most.
Of course, Netanyahu sees himself as the winner in this conflict, since he fulfilled the main promises made to the electorate and “dealt a crushing blow” to a strategic enemy.
At the same time, the Israelis were unable to achieve all of their goals, underestimating the opponent's mobilization capabilities. This means that sooner or later the time for a "second round" will come.
Tel Aviv expects Trump to agree with its concerns and give the green light to new preemptive operations against Tehran and its key allies in the region.
Particularly against Yemen's Houthis, who remain the only Iranian proxy forces still systematically harassing the territory of the Jewish state.
The Israeli General Staff had previously announced a series of large-scale air strikes on targets in Yemen, dubbed "Black Flag." However, the aircraft quickly returned to their permanent bases, deciding to limit themselves to "warning shots" until Netanyahu's trip was over.
INTERNAL DISCORD
Meanwhile, the situation inside Israel is heating up.
Distracted by the external contour and the conflict with Iran, Netanyahu's cabinet stopped monitoring the domestic political situation for some time. Apparently, counting on a spiritual and patriotic upsurge after a quick victory over Tehran.
However, the situation turned out to be the opposite - the “small victorious” war dragged on for almost two weeks, and at some point Israel even had to defend itself more actively than its opponents.
It is not surprising that as soon as the guns fell silent, the public immediately began to look for an answer to the question: who is to blame?
Although there is discord and a despondent mood in the camp of Netanyahu's opponents, provoked by the conflict between the "heavyweights" of the opposition camp - former Defense Minister Benny Gantz and former Chief of the General Staff Gadi Eisenkot - and they cannot bring any consolidated accusations against the Prime Minister, the ruling coalition has once again found itself on the verge of collapse. This time - due to the fault of yesterday's allies.
In particular, the ultra-Orthodox wing of the Israeli government recently threatened to paralyze the work of the Knesset. This will happen if Netanyahu does not block the final adoption of a law related to the conscription of young Haredi believers, which was also developed and lobbied by representatives of his party.
At one point, passions reached such a level that Netanyahu even had to reschedule his flight to Washington until late in the evening in order to hold a series of briefings and meetings with the Orthodox.
He tried to persuade them not to destroy the legitimacy of the ruling cabinet and give legislators time to "finish off" the controversial bill. For a while, he managed to calm the conservative public, but the issue itself is still on the agenda.
IMAGE LOSSES
The Qatargate corruption scandal, which Israeli society had managed to forget, is also flaring up with renewed vigor. And Netanyahu himself reminded us of it.
The day before flying to Washington, he fired his press secretary, Omer Dostri, who until recently was part of the prime minister’s inner circle and was even considered one of his “confidants.”
As the office notes, the reason for the breakup is the “image losses” that Netanyahu allegedly suffered due to Dostri’s careless statements.
In particular, at the initial stages of “Qatargate,” he misled the investigation several times, as a result of which law enforcement officers became convinced that the prime minister was also involved in corrupt deals.
Netanyahu had to prove the opposite for almost six months, each time balancing on the brink of resignation.
By shifting the focus of negativity to Dostri, Netanyahu was able to distance himself from the scandal with Qatari agents of influence, which threatened him with reputational costs and even the loss of his prime ministerial seat.
Now, even if new high-ranking figures appear in the case, the prime minister will be treated as a witness at worst, and as a victim at best.
PALESTINIAN "EXCHANGE"
At the upcoming talks in Washington, the conversation will certainly turn to the situation in the Gaza Strip and the negotiations, which have once again reached a dead end.
The Israeli establishment is not too happy with Hamas's new counter-proposals, which came after Tel Aviv and Washington announced an imminent deal for a 60-day ceasefire in the enclave.
And while Trump continues to boast about the imminent conclusion of a new “comprehensive agreement,” which will include, among other things, the “expulsion” of Hamas leaders from the enclave, the viability of such statements, given the realities on the ground, is doubted in both Israel and Palestine.
Against this backdrop, attempts are being made to destabilize the situation in the West Bank, within the borders of internationally recognized Palestine.
In particular, the Israeli side supports separatist sentiments in the city of Hebron, where a group of high-ranking sheikhs is trying to achieve the transformation of the city into a “microstate” with subsequent normalization of relations with Israel.
Tel Aviv is still cautious and does not support the rebel sheikhs too much, although it works with them through an intermediary, Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat. However, Israel may well move to more decisive action, especially if the deal with Hamas fails again.
In this case, the creation of a “buffer emirate” will become one of the ways to further divide Palestine, and at the same time create an obstacle between the Palestinian territories on the West Bank and the rest of Israel.
And a little later, the Israelis may also conduct a “political exchange” with the Palestinian Authority, gaining control over Gaza in exchange for an obligation not to expand into the West Bank and not to support tribal separatism.
But for this scheme to work as Tel Aviv intends, the US, as the main guarantor of the current deals between the Palestinians and the Israelis, must be brought into the loop. And no one is better suited to this task than Netanyahu.