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Trump’s Schizophrenic Middle East Policy After 100 days
US President Donald Trump attends the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, April 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis
JNS.org – For decades, political observers have judged American presidents by their first 100 days—a somewhat arbitrary marker that can still offer insights into the administration’s priorities and governing style. Trump has done more during this time than any other president. His decisions have been good, questionable or awful, depending on your partisanship. That is true of his policy toward the Middle East and Israel specifically.
If anyone ever believed that Trump holds a special regard for the US-Israel relationship, his imposition of a 17% tariff on Israeli goods, after Israel eliminated tariffs on American imports, should shatter that illusion. Israel is facing harsher tariffs than many countries that are not allies.
Trump’s advisors and cabinet are a mixed bag of pro-Israel stalwarts and isolationists. There are officials with ties to Qatar and others with far-right extremists. One of the more promising appointments has been Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has initiated a much-needed overhaul of the US State Department, eliminating USAID—a move with mixed consequences, given that it both defunded problematic NGOs and cut off support for Israeli hospitals. Another positive addition to the State Department is Mike Huckabee, a Christian Zionist appointed as US ambassador to Israel.
If you substitute the name Obama or Biden for many of Trump’s other policies, Jewish conservatives would be apoplectic. Remember the uproar when Obama visited Cairo and skipped Jerusalem? Trump is going to Saudi Arabia but not Israel. How about the decision to negotiate directly with Hamas and Iran?
Biden’s approach to Israel vacillated between Jekyll and Hyde. Trump’s policies have been similar.
He pressured Israel into ceasefires with Hamas and Hezbollah. Now, however, he’s allowing strikes in the Gaza Strip and Southern Lebanon. He warned against attacking Beirut but apparently approved the attack on a Hezbollah missile facility in a suburb.
Trump told Israel not to attack the Houthis, who are targeting it almost daily. Unlike Biden, who was petrified of the possibility of escalation, Trump ordered ongoing US military strikes on Yemen.
He blocked Israel from attacking Iran but threatened war to stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb. Trump has resumed his “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran but said he wants to have direct talks with its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. He’s moved significant military assets to the region but has not used them to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities. He says that Iran can’t have a nuclear bomb, but his negotiator talked about a modified version of Obama’s nuclear deal that Trump tore up because it would not accomplish that goal. Like Obama, he is letting Iran string him along and refuse to talk about its missile program or sponsorship of terror.
Trump ordered the release of weapons that Biden withheld and removed his predecessor’s sanctions on settlers. The administration has also denied visas to Israeli cyber experts.
After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump then praised Turkey’s Islamist leader, who has been threatening Israel while saying he could mediate between them.
Trump warned Hamas that there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages weren’t freed, which was an empty threat the terrorists ignored. Meanwhile, his negotiator, Adam Boehler, prioritized the release of Americans and was prepared to leave the other Israeli captives behind while expecting Israel to hand over Palestinian prisoners. In response to criticism, he said, “We’re the United States; we’re not an agent of Israel.”
Trump has shown no interest in resuscitating his failed peace plan from his first term or engaging in a new initiative involving the Palestinians. He cut aid again to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and remains unwilling to fund the Palestinian Authority while its “pay-to-slay” policy continues. Trump floated the fanciful plan to take over Gaza, expel the Palestinians and create a “Riviera of the Middle East,” which received a great deal of backlash and has since stalled in terms of going forward.
After weeks of ignoring the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Trump sounded almost Bidenesque in his demand that Israel open access points for the delivery aid.
Administration leaks of Israeli military plans and shared intelligence has affected Israel’s security.
Domestically, his draconian fund cuts and other threats have forced universities to take antisemitism on campus more seriously. The Hamas-loving protesters no longer have free rein, and some are being targeted for deportation.
Trump issued an executive order mandating full and timely disclosure of foreign funding by higher education institutions, which may finally allow the public to know how much Arab money flows to universities and the purpose of those funds. The administration has also opened dozens of investigations of institutions of higher learning to determine their compliance with civil-rights laws protecting Jews and others. Simultaneously, however, he gutted the department responsible for conducting those reviews.
Perhaps more seriously, Trump has undercut Israel with his rhetoric. When he refused to commit to removing the tariff on Israel, he said: “Don’t forget, we help Israel a lot. We give Israel $4 billion a year, that’s a lot.” Stressing the point further, he added that “we give Israel billions of dollars a year. Billions. It’s one of the highest of anyone.”
This effectively lumped Israel with other countries he considers schnorrers—freeloaders he accuses of sponging off the United States, ignoring the mutual benefits of our alliance. Nevertheless, Rubio expedited the delivery of the $4 billion in military assistance.
After 100 days, Trump has an uneven record, combining some very commendable moves with some serious missteps.
The post Trump’s Schizophrenic Middle East Policy After 100 days first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
The post Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.