WASHINGTON – U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has canceled a scheduled visit to Israel ahead of President Donald Trump’s upcoming Middle East tour, The Jerusalem Post reported Friday.
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The trip would have been Hegseth’s first to Israel in his current role. He was expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, according to Axios. Instead, Hegseth will continue on with Trump to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
The move comes amid shifting U.S. policy on normalization efforts in the region. Trump is no longer requiring Saudi Arabia to establish formal ties with Israel as a condition for advancing civil nuclear cooperation, The Jerusalem Post noted. During the Biden administration, U.S. officials insisted normalization was a prerequisite for any Saudi nuclear program.
Trump is expected to arrive in Riyadh next week to finalize a multi-billion-dollar arms deal, another step previously tied to Israeli-Saudi peace overtures.
The decision to skip Israel raises questions about the administration’s evolving diplomatic priorities in the region.
Aside from some hitech types looking for capital, the man-in-the-street has no interest in Saudi. The Abraham Accords died the week following Oct7 when all jewish business high-tailed it back to Israel abandoning their assets in the Gulf. Those environments are inhospitable. Arabs are never bound by these pieces of paper, only the Jews are locked into these unworkable ‘agreements’.
Throwing isreal under the bus
Aside from some hitech types wirking their next Silicon Valley-style exit, the ordinary iAbraham Accords. Arabs are never bound by these pieces of paper, only the Jews are locked into these unworkable ‘agreements’.
No aid to gaza of any kind till ALL the hostages are released !
Why help the people who murder and torture us?
Insane!
No more arabs in gaza
It must be reestablished all Jewish with a flourishing sea port
Good! Abraham Accords hold no advantage for Israel. Those we trade with now, we traded with before. The Arabs & their western allies need to fix their own agreements between themselves.
It’s no secret that there’s bad blood between Bibi and Trump. This appears to be a not so subtle attempt to drive Bibi from office