‘Bibi-sitting’: US heavy-hitters take turns to supervise Israeli prime minister | Israel-Gaza war
The parade of senior US officials traveling to the Middle East in recent weeks is a clear warning from the White House to Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli political groups not to break the recent Gaza ceasefire, including the annexation of the West Bank, or face a serious rift in relations with the US.
When the shaky ceasefire went into effect last week, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner rushed to the region for consultations.
Trump has enlisted his top allies to quell infighting in Israel’s fractious Knesset, now followed by his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and his vice president, J.D. Vance.
One of two bills recently passed by right-wing lawmakers, despite objections from Netanyahu and the majority of his Likud party, would establish Israeli “sovereignty” over occupied territory in the West Bank, effectively ending the possibility of a two-state solution.
These seem unlikely to become law, especially given Trump’s open opposition to the annexation of the West Bank. But the votes irritated US officials, who took the unusual step of publicly punishing Israeli lawmakers for supporting the incendiary legislation.
“If this was a political demonstration, it was a very stupid political demonstration, and I personally accept some of the insults,” J.D. Vance told reporters when asked about the vote. “The West Bank will not be annexed by Israel. The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank should not be annexed by Israel.”
Marco Rubio said the vote could be counterproductive to the Gaza ceasefire. “We think there is potential” [the vote to be] “It threatens the peace agreement,” he said.
Moves to legitimize possible annexation of the West Bank have already angered Arab states vital to negotiating and maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Türkiye, Egypt and other regional powers “condemned in the strongest terms” the passage of the bills in a joint statement. Trump has recently vowed to defend Qatar in the event of an attack and is reportedly expected to discuss a security agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman at the White House next month.
Trump repeatedly told Arab countries that he could rein in Netanyahu, but as concerns grew, the White House sent senior officials to Israel to prevent conflicts from flaring up.
The Israeli press jokingly described this as a “Bibi sit”; Near-constant control of the Israeli prime minister to prevent him or his right-wing allies from taking harsh action to undermine the ceasefire or declare the annexation of the West Bank.
“This will not happen because I made a promise to the Arab countries,” Trump said in his statement. “If this happens, Israel will lose all the support it receives from the United States.”
The White House had promised Arab states that it could prevent Netanyahu’s government from continuing the war or moving to annexed lands in the West Bank after he was taken hostage for a prisoner exchange.
Almost all US aid to Israel now goes to the country’s military; This includes a recent $6.4 billion offer to sell helicopters and infantry assault vehicles as the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) steps up its offensive against Gaza City.
The Trump administration could suspend military aid, but this could create a significant political backlash within the United States.
Netanyahu’s Likud party publicly opposed the bills, saying they were “another provocation by the opposition aimed at damaging our relations with the United States.”
But even Israel’s move to annex new territory so soon after the ceasefire ended raised warning signs among the coalition of states that helped negotiate the ceasefire.
