US President Donald Trump’s Middle East trip comes at a highly critical time amid advanced negotiations with Iran, driven by his clear demand for the complete elimination of Iran’s military nuclear program, and ahead of an intensive IDF operation to decisively confront Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

In both areas, coordination between Israel and the US is intimate and unprecedented. Never before in the history of bilateral relations has a US president, on his own initiative, held a working meeting with an Israeli minister in the White House.

Israel assumes that Trump’s visit to Qatar will not contribute to implementing the Witkoff plan for the broader release of Israeli hostages, though Hamas was expected to free Israeli-American hostage Idan Alexander as a “gesture” to the American administration. There was consideration that Trump might visit Israel if a broader hostage deal were reached, but this currently seems unrealistic within the timeframe.

Israel also believes that—contrary to...

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