The Israeli media highlighted a climate of unusual diplomatic and political estrangement that overshadowed the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington and his meeting with US President Donald Trump, in a scene that seemed completely different from previous meetings between the two parties.
The Israeli newspaper “Israel Hayom” stated in a report: “No one has counted the number of times Trump and Netanyahu have met since 2016, but what distinguished their meeting on Wednesday, and in an unusual way compared to the past, was the extreme secrecy that surrounded the meeting.”
The newspaper pointed out that Trump did not receive Netanyahu outside the White House, did not allow journalists to take traditional photos, did not open the Oval Office to the media, and did not hold any press conference after the meeting, in a remarkable development.
She added that Netanyahu, in turn, avoided the limelight noticeably, as he did not issue any statement to the Israeli media, nor did he give interviews to the right-wing American media through which he used to appear in the past.
The newspaper considered that these data added a “dry character” to the purpose of the visit, noting that Netanyahu’s stay of less than 30 hours on American soil is considered unprecedented, as his previous visits did not witness this shortening of time.
On the other hand, the newspaper saw that the American media did not show much interest in the Israeli Prime Minister’s arrival in Washington, considering that the repeated meetings between the two parties made the event lose its media luster. She quipped that American news channels were more preoccupied with the case of the disappearance of the mother of one of the broadcasters two weeks ago.
She pointed out that the weak media coverage was consistent with the weather conditions in Washington, where the city has been covered for weeks with a layer of snow turning into ice that “refuses to melt.”
However, the newspaper added, stressing that the apparent calm hides clear internal tension, considering that Netanyahu was keen to reduce media coverage to avoid giving the impression that Israel is the one moving the United States.
She stressed that the White House was not keen to put the Iranian file at the top of the agenda, noting that closing the meeting to the media falls within an American policy that has been ongoing for weeks to avoid delving into this sensitive issue.
The newspaper wondered about the reasons for this approach, citing a statement by US Senator John Kennedy, who said that Trump “will fulfill his obligations towards the Iranian people, but the matter requires caution and caution,” stressing that a precise strategy, not hasty steps, is what is required.
The newspaper linked this to the statements of Senator Lindsey Graham, who spent the weekend with Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort, considering that the US President is carefully considering his steps despite his hard-line positions towards Iran.
The newspaper concluded that all the public and leaked statements and messages from the American administration suggest that the American move against Iran is not a matter of “whether” but rather “when,” considering that reaching an agreement between the two parties is “impossible.”
She warned that the Iranians are “ready to fight,” noting that they ignored Trump’s messages during the demonstrations in Tehran, displayed the bodies of generals in coffins, and refused to make the concessions demanded by Washington.
The newspaper concluded by referring to Trump’s statements to Fox News about the necessity of addressing the missile issue, considering that the US administration’s positions towards Iran have been consistent for years, and that the belief that they have changed “reflects poor judgment.”
