Trump Administration Quietly Builds Back Channels to Israel’s Opposition

Ahead of Israel’s election, roughly four months away, figures in the Trump administration believe there is a meaningful chance of a change of government and are moving to build informal ties with the opposition. The report, aired on Friday night on “Uvdah Shishi,” says this is happening against the backdrop of a widening rift between Washington and the Netanyahu government.

According to the article, this effort is no longer being driven only by the opposition. Until now, Israeli opposition leaders had been the ones seeking contact with the American administration, with limited success. Now, people described as very close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are themselves looking for channels to opposition figures, especially Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett.

The administration is said to be concerned about what it views as the extremist elements in Netanyahu’s coalition. Officials reportedly want to prepare new diplomatic channels so they can advance policy goals during the postwar period and in the middle of a trust crisis with the current government, goals they believe may be difficult to pursue through Netanyahu and his cabinet.

At the same time, the report stresses that Washington has not shifted its support away from Netanyahu. The point, according to these officials, is to create trust-based relationships and unofficial channels now, in case political power in Israel changes after the election.