2 min readJul 28, 2026 06:05 AM IST
First published on: Jul 28, 2026 at 06:05 AM IST
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with President Donald Trump this week comes at a time of growing strain in the US-Israel relationship. This is because of diverging interests over the war with Iran, Israel’s military campaigns in Lebanon and Gaza, and signs that the personal rapport between the two leaders who face elections later this year is waning. Netanyahu has long presented his close ties with Trump as a political asset, while Trump confronts an electorate increasingly angry about the war. How each reconciles these competing pressures will shape the outcome of this meeting. The US-Saudi nuclear deal has also raised concerns in Israel that it could, over time, erode its strategic edge in the region and weaken its leverage in securing the normalisation of ties with Riyadh.
The US and Israel have been steadfast allies since the 1967 Six-Day War, their alliance is underpinned by strategic interests and what they perceive as shared democratic and Judeo-Christian values. That consensus appears to be fraying. With a new generation of Americans coming of age, Israel no longer commands the instinctive public backing it once enjoyed. Polls consistently show that support for Israel in America has fallen to historic lows amid the war in Gaza. The old bipartisan consensus on military aid is also weakening. Earlier this month, more than a hundred House Democrats voted to cut US military assistance to Israel, indicating a growing unease within the party even as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called on the federal government to enforce the ICC’s arrest warrant against Netanyahu. The Republican consensus on Israel will depend on the outcome of the war in Iran.
Ahead of the meeting, Netanyahu offered Trump significant concessions, including cooperation on a US-brokered security arrangement in southern Lebanon and cabinet approval for the entry of a multinational security force into Gaza under Trump’s 20-point plan. Whether these will satisfy the US president remains to be seen. With sections of the American public increasingly sceptical of Washington’s support for Israel, the question is how much more Trump will demand and how much more Netanyahu can concede as both prepare to face their electorates.
