This article was originally published by Tyler Durden at ZeroHedge.
President Trump still has an interest in achieving peace and stability in the Middle East, particularly related to the conflicts Israel is still engaged in on several fronts – which is why US administration officials have been voicing frustration at what they see as reckless Netanyahu policies.
Axios reported Sunday that senior White House officials are increasingly at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, particularly over Israel’s recent airstrikes in Damascus, which occurred despite reported US efforts to dissuade Israel from targeting Syria. President Trump has made clear he wants to see a ‘new Syria’ emerge under the Sharaa government.
“Bibi acted like a madman. He bombs everything constantly,” one White House official told Axios in a surprisingly blunt assessment, also warning that such actions jeopardize President Trump’s broader goals to restore regional stability.
Washington has been working toward a normalization agreement between Israel and Syria’s new government, despite Sharaa and his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters being essentially a rebrand of Syrian al-Qaeda.
But Trump admin officials have been criticizing much more than just Tel Aviv’s Syria adventurism. For example, another American official expressed outrage over an Israeli tank attack that struck Gaza’s only Roman Catholic church days ago, killing three Christians, and wounding more, including the priest.
“Every day there’s something new. What the f***?” the official said. A third commented that Netanyahu behaves “like a child who just won’t listen,” Axios wrote.
The report indicated it remains unclear whether President Trump shares his own advisers’ displeasure. The reality is that Trump has continued to show public support for Netanyahu – going so far as to call for an end to his corruption trial.
There’s also reason to think that those US officials vehemently criticizing Netanyahu are likely not in the majority, given for example that Israeli officials have claimed that Tel Aviv never expected Washington to object to the strikes in Syria.
After all, President Trump has encouraged Israel to retain captured Syrian territory – and the US admin has also been completely silent on Israeli military actions in the south, despite the clear violation of sovereignty against a sitting United Nations member.
But it remains that there probably is an internal clash over Israel still bombing key Syrian government buildings. Israeli leaders have of late teased the possibility of another regime change operation in Damascus, something Washington would more than likely object to at this point.
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