At a crucial meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump, the two leaders showered each other with praise and expressed their hopes for the future, including Trump pushing for a controversial new ally for Jerusalem, Syria.
In the wake of the end of the Syrian Civil War and the overthrow of former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, the rebel commander Ahmed al-Sharaa took over as President of Syria in January of this year. His leadership and support from the U.S. proved controversial, given his previous ties to the terrorist organization, al-Qaeda. He also had a bounty on his head posted by the U.S. during his time with the group, which the U.S. rescinded after he took office.
However, since taking office, al-Sharaa has taken a more moderate stance, welcoming Western support as well as opposition to conflict with Israel. During the meeting, Trump expressed hopes that al-Sharaa's Syria and Israel can "get along" as al-Sharaa is working very hard to do a good job."
The meeting between Trump and Netanyahu occurred at the American president's famous Florida property. It followed separate talks between Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as other Trump advisers, and was initially framed by U.S. and Israeli leaders as an opportunity to strengthen the fragile peace process in Gaza, address the next steps for the ceasefire, and align on shared security priorities.
The two leaders had nothing but positive things to say to each other during the meeting, with Trump saying that Israel "might not exist right now" without Netanyahu, and Netanyahu saying Israel has "never had a friend like President Trump in the White House." Trump also praised al-Sharaa, calling him "a tough cookie, and you're not going to get a choirboy to lead Syria. That's the one thing I want to say."
However, since al-Sharaa took power and his openness to relations with Jerusalem, Netanyahu has taken a tenuous approach to relations with them. Multiple reports have emerged that the Mossad had been involved in covert operations in Syria, particularly in support of minority groups like the Druze against government forces. The Syrian president, in turn, has criticized Israel for "exporting crises" to countries like Syria to distract from their "horrifying massacres" in Gaza.
Their comments come days after an Axios report alleging that Netanyahu has "lost" Vice President JD Vance, Rubio, Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles as they think the Israeli leader is "slow-walking the peace process," and that President Trump is the only true ally Netanyahu has in the upper echelons of the Trump administration.
