Several White House officials complained about Israel’s bombing in Syria to Axios. Last week, Israel bombed the Syrian defense ministry as President Donald Trump is attempting to add Damascus to the Abraham Accords.
One official called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “madman.” “Bibi acted like a madman. He bombs everything all the time. This could undermine what Trump is trying to do,” a White House official said.
The statement was made in response to Israel bombing the Syrian defense ministry and conducting strikes near the Presidential Palace in Damascus. One Israeli news outlet reported the strikes were part of a “prolonged” military operation in Gaza.
Multiple Israeli ministers have called for Tel Aviv to assassinate Syrian President Abu Mohammade al-Jolani, who now goes by Ahmed al-Sharaa. Jolani is a veteran of Al-Qaeda in Iraq and founded the group’s Syria affiliate.
Even with Jolani’s history in the jihadist movement, Trump has attempted to bring Syria into the Abraham Accords. Under the pact, Damascus and Tel Aviv would receive incentives from Washington to normalize ties.
However, bombing high-value targets in Damascus undermines the chances of bringing Syria into the Abraham Accords. “The bombing in Syria caught the President and the White House by surprise. The President doesn’t like turning on the television and seeing bombs dropped in a country he is seeking peace in, and made a monumental announcement to help rebuild,” a US official said.
Jolani overthrew long-time Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad late last year. Assad’s control in Syria was weakened by a 15-year dirty war by the US and its allies in the region, including Israel.
Now that the Syrian War has the predictable result of leading to jihadists’ control over Damascus, Tel Aviv is using it as an excuse to invade, occupy, and bomb Syria.
Israeli officials told Axios that Tel Aviv was surprised that Washington is unhappy about its intervention in Syria. Since taking control in Damascus, Jolani’s forces have conducted a number of massacres against minority sects in Syria, including against the Druze. Tel Aviv claims it made a commitment to protect the Druze, giving Israel the right to bomb Syria.
“The US wants to keep the new Syrian government stable and doesn’t understand why we attack in Syria, because of attacks on the Druze community there. We tried to explain to them that this is our commitment to the Druze community in Israel,” the senior Israeli official said.
According to Axios, there are other issues causing the White House frustration with Netanyahu, including the shelling of a Catholic church in Gaza. “The feeling is that every day there is something new. What the f***?” an official told the outlet.
A third official added, “Netanyahu is sometimes like a child who just won’t behave.”
While multiple White House officials and US Middle East partners have voiced concern to Trump about Netanyahu’s actions, it is unclear if it has any impact on the President’s thinking. Washington maintains considerable leverage over Tel Aviv and could force Israel to end its military operations if that is what Trump wants.
However, since taking office, Trump has increased support for Israel. He has approved multiple weapons shipments, unfroze some arms transfers halted by President Joe Biden, and aided Israel during its war on Iran.
