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To the long list of those who distrust Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were recently added US President Donald Trump and his closest advisers who have been negotiating the ceasefire in Gaza. As such, this is not exactly breaking news — most of those who work with Netanyahu have parted company with the Israeli leader after coming to doubt his integrity and honesty. However, that this now applies to the leader of the country that the Jewish state is most reliant on for its security and political support, as well as preferential trade agreements, should raise the alarm among Israel’s voters as they enter an election year.

Trump’s recent show of support for Netanyahu during his whirlwind visit to Israel was no more than lip service. The president had to force him into a ceasefire deal. It has been widely reported that Netanyahu rejected similar ceasefire proposals in the past, describing these as disastrous for Israeli interests. In reality, this was mainly due to his fear of the ultranationalist-messianic elements in his coalition government who threatened to leave should he accept any of the proposals.

It is not only that Israel is losing the support of the US administration due to the reckless behavior of its current government, but also that its previously solid and close rapport with the American people is dissipating. Ever since its foundation, the Jewish state has enjoyed the broad support of the US, for its perceived sharing of liberal-democratic values, shared self-proclaimed exceptionalism, and somewhat enigmatic Christian-Zionist nexus. Despite no formal alliance, a commonality of interests in the region has evolved into an informal one. But under Netanyahu, and much more pronounced in his increasingly autocratic government, it has come to disrespect international law and human rights, never mind its carefree undermining of US interests in the region.

While from the Knesset’s podium Trump hailed Netanyahu as an ally and a tough negotiator, and in a completely unacceptable diversion from protocol asked Israel’s president to pardon the Israeli prime minister over his corruption charges, a joint interview given to CBS “60 Minutes” by the two chief American mediators, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, provides a less cosy picture of relations between the two leaderships.

A turning point was Israel’s mindless missile attack on Qatar last month. Kushner said in that interview that “Steve (Witkoff) and I basically were very upset about that. We thought that that really was not a smart strategic move, and it violated a lot of the trust that we felt ... like we deserved from the Israeli side.”

Losing the American people is a damaging strategic setback, with Netanyahu’s name written all over it.

Yossi Mekelberg

Witkoff added to this that they felt betrayed and the US president “felt like the Israelis … were getting a little bit out of control in what they were doing,” and it was time to rein them in and get them to behave more responsibly. We know that this American administration conducts its affairs differently, but such a public rebuke is testimony to what Washington’s decisionmakers think about Netanyahu’s government and how it has become a loose cannon that needs to be contained. Consequently, Trump found it necessary to twist Netanyahu’s arm and impose a deal that was more in tune with what most Israelis want — the end of the war and the return of the hostages.

The extent of the Trump administration’s distrust in Netanyahu, both officially and personally, was vividly illustrated when Witkoff and Kushner were “invited” to attend the Cabinet meeting during which the prime minister introduced the ceasefire deal. More accurately, the two Americans were there to ensure that there would not be any last-minute prevarication to try to delay or even wreck the deal. There is no precedent in Israel’s history of two representatives of another country acting as the prime minister’s supervisors and participating in a Cabinet discussion, especially one so crucial to the country’s future.

It has taken several months for the Trump administration to understand that they are dealing with a government led by a cynic prepared to cling to power at whatever cost and to the detriment of his own people. Not surprisingly,  most Israelis have been grateful to Trump and his diplomats for being attentive to their plight, and setting about ending the war and bringing about the return of the hostages, something they could not convince their own government to do. As the ceasefire was tested with a series of violations, US Vice President J.D. Vance was dispatched to keep an eye on Netanyahu, lest he once more fall under the spell of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and his ilk and attempt to resume the war.

But if relations between the two administrations are a source of concern, the constant reputational erosion of Israel’s image among Americans could be much more damaging. According to the US-based Pew Research Center, two years after Oct. 7, 2023, Americans’ skepticism about Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza is rising, with nearly 40 percent now saying that it has gone too far, and 59 percent holding an unfavorable opinion of the Israeli government.

Moreover, Americans increasingly hold the view that the US gives too much military assistance to Israel, and are expressing alarm about the killings by airstrikes and starvation among Palestinians in higher percentages than their concern for the return of the hostages. Support for Israel is particularly shaky among young Americans who identify as Democrats, while there is also dwindling backing among Republicans.

Rifts between governments are easier to repair than those involving people who are disillusioned or disappointed, as these are etched in public memory for a long time. Politicians, in turn, tend not to remain indifferent to trends in public opinion. Netanyahu might be convenient for Trump, at least for now. With his corruption trial at home and the International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against him for war crimes and crimes against humanity, the Israeli leader heavily relies on the US president to rescue him from both, but this will not come without a price in future negotiations with the Palestinians. However, beyond the immediate situation, losing the American people is a damaging strategic setback, with Netanyahu’s name written all over it.

• Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. X: @YMekelberg