That Axios’ “scoop” this morning was quickly picked up and reported in the Times of Israel’s live feed under the headline “White House Fed Up with PM.”
Two U.S. officials (unnamed, of course) told Axios that the White House had sent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an “angry” message over the Dec. 13 Israeli strike which killed Hamas deputy military commander Ra’ad Sa’ad, calling it a violation of the ceasefire. According to one senior official, the White House message to Netanyahu was: “If you want to ruin your reputation and show that you don’t abide by agreements, be our guest, but we won’t allow you to ruin President Trump’s reputation after he brokered the deal in Gaza.”
This story has it that the White House is also upset over settler violence in the West Bank, and that Netanyahu’s provocations are “unnecessarily angering potential Arab partners.” That, along with his refusal to move “from the war in Gaza to a new era of peacemaking,” is making the Trump administration’s obsession with expanding the much-ballyhooed Abraham Accords impossible.
Axios adds: “An Israeli official confirmed the White House was unhappy but claimed the message was milder—that `certain Arab countries’ consider it a ceasefire violation. According to the U.S. officials, the White House was unequivocal that Israel had violated the ceasefire.”