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Behaving like a child: White House increasingly worried about Netanyahu's Mideast goals - report

Behaving like a child: White House increasingly worried about Netanyahu's Mideast goals - report
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Sunday, 20 July, 2025, 19:00

White House officials reportedly believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be out of control and that his actions could undermine US President Donald Trump's plans in the Middle East, Axios reported on Sunday, citing White House officials.
"Bibi [Benjamin Netanyahu] is acting like a madman. He bombs everything all the time. This could undermine what Trump is trying to do," a White House official told Axios.

Another U.S. official told Axios, “Netanyahu is sometimes like a child who just won’t behave.”

Trump himself made an angry call to Netanyahu after Israel’s bombing of the only Catholic Church in Gaza on Thursday. After Netanyahu told Trump the bombing was a mistake, Trump demanded the Israeli government put out a public statement to that effect — which they did.

Still, despite the administration’s concerns about Netanyahu and Trump’s reaction to the Thursday attack, Axios reports it is “unclear” if he shares the frustrations of his advisors. Trump has repeatedly gone to bat for Netanyahu in recent months — specifically on the corruption case he is facing.

“I was shocked to hear that the State of Israel, which has just had one of its Greatest Moments in History, and is strongly led by Bibi Netanyahu, is continuing its ridiculous Witch Hunt against their Great War Time Prime Minister!” Trump wrote on June 25. He added, “Bibi Netanyahu was a WARRIOR, like perhaps no other Warrior in the History of Israel.”

Trump, on June 29, also threatened to withhold U.S. aid from Israel if the charges against Netanyahu were not dropped.

And yet those inside the West Wing are losing confidence in the prime minister.

“The feeling is that every day there is something new,” an unnamed U.S. official told Axios. “What the f***?”

"Netanyahu is sometimes like a child who just won't behave," the official told Axios.

An additional US official highlighted the strike on Gaza's Holy Family Church, a Roman Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip, last week.