Trump Administration Quietly Builds Back Channels to Israel’s Opposition

Four months before Israel’s next election, officials in the Trump administration are reportedly creating informal contacts with opposition figures, especially Naftali Bennett and Gadi Eisenkot, amid a deepening rift with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. The report, aired on Friday night on “Ulvani Shishi,” says this is a shift from the past, when the opposition had to seek access to Washington and received only limited success.

According to the broadcast, American officials close to Netanyahu are now actively looking for alternative political channels. The goal is not an open break with Netanyahu, but the building of unofficial relationships and trust networks in case Israel sees a change of government. The move comes as the administration believes there is a meaningful chance of a power shift in Israel.

The report says the U.S. side is worried about the more extreme elements in Netanyahu’s coalition. It also argues that, after the war ended, Washington wants to seize diplomatic opportunities and pursue achievements that are difficult to advance with Netanyahu’s current government, against the backdrop of a trust crisis between the two sides.

At the same time, the report stresses that Trump is not switching his current support away from Netanyahu. The administration, however, is said to believe it is necessary to prepare new informal channels now, rather than wait until after the election.