Netanyahu has become a bystander to Trump's Middle East trip.

Jin10 data reported on May 15 that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has long bragged about his ability to get Trump to listen to him. However, as the U.S. President visits the Middle East this week, it remains unclear whether Trump still heeds Netanyahu. On Monday, after negotiations that bypassed Netanyahu, Hamas released an American-Israeli hostage. On Tuesday, Trump lifted sanctions against Syria and met with the new Syrian leader, Bashar, whom Trump described as "young, charismatic, and a fighter," despite Israel condemning him as a dangerous "jihadist." When Trump announced a ceasefire with Yemen's Houthi forces on May 6, he had already diverged from Netanyahu on another front. A larger rift looms above it all: Trump's decision to engage in direct negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program has left Netanyahu a bystander on this critical issue, where he has previously clashed with two U.S. presidents. Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren stated, "It now seems that Netanyahu is clearly not receiving Trump's attention— even if Trump listens, he does not have Trump's heart."