{"id":122505,"date":"2025-07-12T17:05:26","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T15:05:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=122505"},"modified":"2025-07-11T11:14:28","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T09:14:28","slug":"12-05-110","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=122505","title":{"rendered":"Strategy over spectacle: The message behind Netanyahu’s low-key, high-stakes US visit"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>Strategy over spectacle: The message behind Netanyahu’s low-key, high-stakes US visit<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

HERB KEINON<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Netanyahu’s quiet trip to Washington proves that the two were meeting for impact, not optics.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Here, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accompanied by Trump, speaks during a dinner in the Blue Room of the White House on Monday in Washington. \/ (photo credit: Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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A great deal of buildup always precedes prime ministerial visits to the US, and this week\u2019s visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington was no exception. In fact, it was preceded by more than most.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n

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There was an expectation that a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal would be announced. That an expansion of the Abraham Accords would be broadly hinted at. That a coordinated\u00a0US-Israel policy<\/a>\u00a0regarding upcoming talks with Iran would be thrashed out.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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As of Thursday afternoon, neither of the first two expectations has been met. As for coordination toward Iran, if guidelines and\u00a0an agreement<\/a>\u00a0have been worked out, that is all taking place very discreetly behind tightly closed doors.<\/span><\/p>\n

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As Netanyahu\u2019s visit drew to a close \u2013 though on Thursday it was still unclear whether he would fly home that evening as planned or stay through the weekend for additional talks \u2013 what stood out was not what was said, but what wasn\u2019t. The most notable feature of the visit so far was its silence \u2013 its lack of news.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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There were no handshakes in the Oval Office with US President Donald Trump as dozens of cameras clicked,\u00a0no dramatic announcements<\/a>, only limited photo-ops. The two Trump-Netanyahu meetings \u2013 first a dinner in the Blue Room on Monday evening, then a follow-up meeting in the Oval Office the next night \u2013 took place long after Israelis had gone to bed. That\u2019s a sharp departure from what has almost become protocol during these prime ministerial visits: scheduling the high-profile meetings in time to make the 8 p.m. Israeli television news.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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Not this time.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US President Donald Trump at the White House, in Washington DC, US, July 8, 2025 (credit: Avi Ohayon\/GPO)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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The relative dearth of news-generating events and press opportunities was not accidental. It signaled that this was not a trip designed for headlines, performative diplomacy, or political theater. The structure of the visit sent a clear message: the stakes are high, and the risks of saying the wrong thing to the wrong audience at the wrong time are even higher.<\/span><\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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It\u2019s not every day that a media-savvy Israeli prime minister meets a voluble US president like Trump without turning the Oval Office moment into a headline event.<\/span><\/p>\n

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But this time, the choreography was intentional. The few symbolic moments that were revealed \u2013 the gifting of a mezuzah case in the shape of a B-2 bomber made out of Iranian missile shrapnel, a letter nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize \u2013 were carefully selected and tightly controlled.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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The message? This trip was about substance, not optics.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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BACK IN March, the last time Netanyahu was in Washington, Iran dominated the agenda. It was at an Oval Office photo-op that Trump announced the US would begin nuclear talks with Tehran.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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Ironically, while the current visit came just two weeks after Operation Rising Lion and a US-led strike on Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities, it wasn\u2019t Iran that took center stage. It was Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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The shift of attention back to Gaza \u2013 from the bombed centrifuges of Fordow to the tunnels of Beit Hanun \u2013 was not a matter of ideology. It was a matter of immediacy. Operation Rising Lion had a definitive endpoint: the US attacks on Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The war in Gaza, by contrast, continues to drag on.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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Five IDF soldiers were killed in Gaza on Monday, another on Wednesday, bringing the total number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since the Iran operation to 17. That grim tally underscored a hard truth: the war is far from over, and the Iranian operation did not end it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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That reality, as well as the hostages still languishing in Hamas captivity, continues to anchor Israel\u2019s emotional center of gravity. For the public, it weighs more heavily than even the glow of success from the Iran strike.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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Trump sees return of Gaza hostages as priority<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

FOR TRUMP as well, ending the war and freeing the hostages are a priority. He has said so repeatedly.<\/span><\/section>\n<\/section>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re very close to a deal,\u201d Trump declared yet again on Wednesday, echoing what he has been saying for days. \u201cWe want to have a ceasefire, we want to have peace. We want to get the hostages back. And I think we\u2019re close to doing it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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And yet, unlike two weeks ago \u2013 when he reportedly ordered Netanyahu to call off airstrikes on Tehran after Iran broke the ceasefire \u2013 Trump has not, at least publicly, applied pressure on Netanyahu to make concessions that would hasten an agreement in Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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This time, the diplomacy is being done quietly. A Qatari delegation arrived in Washington this week, and according to an Axios report, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer met with a senior Qatari official and Middle East envoy\u00a0Steve Witkoff<\/a>\u00a0at the White House to discuss a potential deal and try to bridge the remaining gaps.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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Israel has reportedly passed a new proposal to Hamas via Qatar. The plan centers on a gradual redeployment of the IDF from key areas in Gaza, with the Morag Corridor \u2013 believed to be the last major point of contention in the ceasefire negotiations \u2013 at the heart of the discussions.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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One question hangs over all this, even if few are voicing it aloud: Did Israel trade Gaza for Fordow? In other words, did Netanyahu agree to soften his stance in Gaza in exchange for US participation in the strikes on Iran\u2019s nuclear infrastructure?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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If Trump helped Netanyahu tick his most crucial strategic box \u2013 inflicting a devastating blow to Iran\u2019s nuclear timeline \u2013 might Netanyahu now be expected to help Trump tick his own: notching a major diplomatic win in Gaza?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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And perhaps, with Iran no longer on the front burner, Netanyahu feels he can afford to be more flexible. After all, it will be hard for Hamas to claim any form of victory at a moment when the Iranian \u201caxis of resistance\u201d \u2013 of which it was a central pillar \u2013 has so dramatically unraveled since October 7.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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\u201cThey took over Iraq, Syria, Lebanon with Hezbollah, Gaza with Hamas, and the mouth of the Red Sea with the Houthis in Yemen. They were invincible,\u201d Netanyahu said of Iran during a Fox News interview on Wednesday. \u201cBut we broke them.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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\u201cWe first peeled off Hezbollah, which led to the collapse of the Assad regime, which in turn led to the collapse of the Iranian axis,\u201d he continued. \u201cSo I think it\u2019s a different Middle East.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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That different Middle East may now be prompting Netanyahu to readjust his redlines in Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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Still, he has his coalition to think about. Religious Zionist Party head Bezalel Smotrich and Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben-Gvir have made their redlines abundantly clear: no deal that leaves Hamas intact will be accepted. Which is why Netanyahu\u2019s rhetoric in Washington, even while discussing a Gaza ceasefire, has been carefully measured.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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\u201cWe are determined to complete our war objectives in Gaza,\u201d he said. \u201cTo release all our hostages, to bring about the destruction of Hamas\u2019s military and governmental capabilities, and of course to ensure that Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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But even with those words, the fact that the negotiations are continuing at the current level means there is room for maneuver \u2013 room that Trump has made clear he wants to see left open \u2013 even if Smotrich and Ben-Gvir do not.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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What Trump hasn\u2019t made clear, however, is any public pressure on Netanyahu. If it is happening, it is taking place in the back rooms, far away from the cameras. In front of the cameras, as far as the cameras are permitted, the closeness of the alliance was on full display during this visit.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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For instance, the mezuzah case in the shape of a B-2 bomber was more than a novelty. It was a thank-you for Fordow \u2013 and a reminder of the depth of strategic cooperation that enabled that mission.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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Likewise, Netanyahu\u2019s presentation to Trump of a letter he had written to the Norwegian Nobel Committee nominating the president for the Nobel Peace Prize \u2013 a nomination that came months after the application process had ended \u2013 was carefully thought out. It positioned Trump as a peacemaker, reinforcing a narrative that serves him well: the man who brokered the Abraham Accords, helped end Iran\u2019s grip on the region, and is thereby forging a new Middle East.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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PM’s visit to Washington will not be remembered for fanfare in Israel<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

WHILE NETANYAHU spent the week in Washington, back in Israel the public mood was increasingly weary.<\/span><\/section>\n<\/section>\n

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Support for the war\u2019s overall goals remains strong, though there is continued skepticism whether defeating Hamas and freeing the hostages can be done simultaneously. Furthermore, the costs \u2013 the fallen soldiers, the hostages, the lingering trauma \u2013 are taking a toll.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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Even the remarkable success of Operation Rising Lion has done little to lighten the emotional load. That\u2019s because the October 7 trauma remains unresolved. And because the Israel-Hamas war, unlike the campaign against Iran, has no clear endgame.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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The prime minister\u2019s visit to Washington this week will not be remembered for fanfare. There was no joint announcement with the president of a new regional dawn. No memorable ceremonies. No dramatic sound bites.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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But that does not mean the visit wasn\u2019t significant.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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The very absence of theatrics may say more than any press conference could. It hinted at hard choices ahead. It hinted at strategic bargains that may have already been made. And it hinted at the possibility \u2013 still out of reach \u2013 of a release of the hostages, a ceasefire, and a new diplomatic beginning.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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Those outcomes didn\u2019t materialize this week, but for the first time in a long time, they feel possible. And as the country waits, it\u2019s worth returning to what Netanyahu told Fox News in his interview on Wednesday:<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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\u201cPresident Wilson used to say, \u2018I believe in open covenants of peace, openly arrived at.\u2019 I have a slight change in that formula. I believe in open covenants, secretly arrived at. Whatever we can do in diplomacy, I think we should do discreetly, and then surprise people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n
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The nation now waits to see what surprise \u2013 if any \u2013 might yet emerge from this low-key, high-stakes trip to Washington.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n

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Strategy over spectacle: The message behind Netanyahu’s low-key, high-stakes US visit HERB KEINON Netanyahu’s quiet trip to Washington proves that the two were meeting for impact, not optics. Here, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accompanied by Trump, speaks during a dinner in the Blue Room of the White House on Monday in Washington. \/ (photo credit: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122505"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=122505"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122547,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122505\/revisions\/122547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=122505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=122505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=122505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}