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Seven Fat Cows Devouring Seven Lean Ones

In politics, relationships are not measured by the number of smiles exchanged before cameras, but by the number of decisions drafted behind closed doors. From the very first moment Donald Trump entered the White House in his first term, it became clear that there was an alignment between Washington and Tel Aviv that went beyond traditional interests—something resembling a partnership in redefining reality itself: redefining the Palestinian cause, redefining Jerusalem, redefining peace and normalization, redefining the Iranian threat, redefining Palestinian representation, and redefining international sponsorship and legitimacy.

Seven visits in which Benjamin Netanyahu crossed the Atlantic, racing against time, turning his face toward the White House during Donald Trump’s first term—as if the number itself were deliberately symbolic. With every visit, a paper was pulled from an old file to add a new line to the map of the Middle East. Recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was not an isolated decision; it was a declaration that the Israeli narrative had finally found someone willing to adopt it without reservation. Moving the embassy was not merely a diplomatic procedure, but a clear signal that the balance of power was the only recognized language. As for what was called the “Deal of the Century,” it was the most explicit expression of an alliance that viewed the reengineering of the region as a feasible project—provided political will existed, along with the right ally.

Netanyahu, in those visits, was not merely a guest of the president of the most powerful country in the world, but a partner in setting the agenda. Iran was always present—not only as a shared adversary, but as a unifying banner for a broader alliance. Withdrawal from the nuclear agreement, tightening sanctions, and expanding the scope of regional normalization—all bore the imprint of this political synergy, bringing together a right-wing Israeli vision seeking regional supremacy and a conservative American right-wing vision that saw a solid alliance with Tel Aviv as the gateway to reshaping Middle Eastern priorities.

Notably, these seven visits, with their seven files, were not responses to emergency events. Rather, they appeared to be part of a steady rhythm—like chapters in an ongoing series—each reinforcing the reality that the relationship between the two men was not circumstantial, but a convergence of perceptions: about power, about deterrence, about the meaning of peace. Peace, in this context, was no longer a balanced settlement, but a redefinition of the rules of the game—where the weaker party is asked to adapt its demands to a pre-set reality and predetermined ceilings.

The region, meanwhile, found itself facing a clear equation: a cohesive American–Israeli alliance bold enough to take major decisions, grounded in the conviction that the moment was ripe for deep transformations. The normalization between Israel and several Arab states aligned seamlessly with this broader context, moving in its shadow and benefiting from the political climate created by those visits and the messages they carried.

Donald Trump’s first term ended—and with it his failed bid for a second consecutive term—against the backdrop of a pandemic that struck the global economy hard, coupled with unprecedented political chaos and scandals. The final outcome did not align with Netanyahu’s unfinished files. He attempted, as much as possible, to coexist with the return of traditional U.S. policies to the center of decision-making, only to exit the stage of power after elections that unseated him—before returning less than two years later, finding himself nearly a year afterward in the midst of a fierce war, with seven fronts wide open, threatening to sweep away what he had believed were firmly established realities.

Donald Trump returned to power following the 2024 elections, amid an entirely different landscape shaped by the events of October 7, 2023. At that moment, Netanyahu had never been more in need of a U.S. president like Donald Trump—as a rescuer from the crises that had burst open on all fronts. Some may see it as fate, but the undeniable truth is that the conservative right-wing lobby in the United States, with its financial power and propaganda machinery, mobilized fully to secure his re-election, despite all the crises that accompanied his first term.

Seven visits in the first year of Donald Trump’s second term are not like those of his entire first term. Seven files Netanyahu seeks to finalize before the Trump phenomenon fades from American history. Old angles have been recycled in light of the realities on the ground across seven battlefronts. Coexistence with the Iranian regime is no longer deemed possible. Even the remnants of the “Deal of the Century” are no longer tolerable. As for Gaza—which had been envisioned as the nucleus of a quasi-state project for Palestinians during Trump’s first term, and which has now all but vanished—it has whetted the appetite of Donald Trump and his partners in the “Peace Council,” over which he appointed himself chairman even after leaving the White House in 2028.

Netanyahu’s recent seven visits to meet Donald Trump were merely interconnected حلقات serving the aforementioned objectives. Each will collide with countless barricades and conflicting interests—beginning with those within the United States itself, and extending to influential global powers. Perhaps the easiest of these would be dismissing the corruption allegations that prompted Donald Trump to attack Israel’s head of state, telling him he should be ashamed of himself for rejecting a request made during his last visit from the Knesset podium. If this is the state of affairs in a bilateral issue between two states that have reached such levels of deadlock and conduct beyond the norms of political decorum, what then of issues involving numerous actors, any one of whom can throw a wrench into the gears of reaching a decisive outcome?

This is the nature of bullying politics throughout history: it believes it can do as it pleases. He may convince him of the necessity of war with Iran—and incidentally, Netanyahu’s latest visit was likely devoted entirely to agreeing on a war scenario. But what will the region look like once it ends? He may persuade him of the need for another round of escalation in Gaza to disarm Hamas. He may argue for keeping the southern Lebanese front open, as well as southern Syria, until the fate of the war with Iran becomes clear. Yet the truth absent from both is that the world has changed. It no longer tolerates such bullying or operating outside international law. Neither normalization with Somaliland nor a “Peace Council” chaired by Donald Trump will alter the facts on the ground. What the Epstein documents revealed—that the United States faces a system of political corruption from which Netanyahu benefited for years—has not gone unnoticed. The younger generation in the United States, and across the world, is no longer willing to sustain it indefinitely. The seven fat years outside international law and legitimacy will inevitably devour the seven lean years upon which Netanyahu is betting.