The Israeli government was not shown the memorandum of understanding drafted to end the war with Iran, an Israeli government official told NBC News on Wednesday, the latest sign of growing tension between the United States and Israel.
Shortly after Donald Trump said he had given a copy of the MOU to Israel, the same source said Israel still hadn’t seen the draft. The source wouldn’t comment on whether or not Israeli diplomats had asked for the text and were denied it.
The Israeli government’s absence in the negotiations leading up to the MOU has become a perilous hindrance for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces career-defining elections before the end of October. The deal framework was provided to NBC News by a senior U.S. official later on Wednesday.
First, I really wish I could put that many 9s on it. I agree with you, but it would be nice if Democrats ran as directly on "no more wars" as Trump did. I definitely wouldn't rule out Harris allowing Israel to attack Iran, but just being more discrete and framing it as "Israel's war" instead of ours.
Second, folks should be wary: one of the things that makes Netanyahu so dangerous is that he's genuinely a mastermind at planning AND pivoting: he'll game out multiple sides of things, and when people say he's cooked or is finally out of options he'll pull out a move he had ready.
My point is that he's never taken by surprise, and he's the undisputed master of pulling a rabbit out of his hat when everyone thinks they've got him cornered.
Do not underestimate his ability to win reelection or retain his power even if he loses.