The resignation of Donald Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn could complicate the Wednesday meeting of the president and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, The New York Times is reporting.
The departure of Flynn leaves Netanyahu without his strongest supporter in the White House for pressuring Iran, the newspaper noted.
During his short stint with the Trump administration, Flynn had warned Iran it was being "put on notice" for what he said was a pattern of aggressive behavior in the region.
Now, with Flynn gone, the Trump-Netanyahu meeting will likely include Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner and the president's chief strategic Steve Bannon, The Times reports.
And it comes at a time when Trump, who strongly backed Israel during the presidential campaign, is already starting to pull away from the Israeli leader, according to the newspaper.
Kushner has reportedly increased the president's interest in a peace initiative between the Israelis and Palestinians, and the newspaper noted it is something Netanyahu "is not especially eager to discuss."
A White House official said Trump would push for peace, but not necessarily a two-state solution, the paper said. However, the official provided no details on the alternative plan.
"The one issue Bibi has no room for maneuver on — the peace process — is the one issue Trump wants to talk about," Martin Indyk, a special envoy for Middle East peace during the Obama administration, said, using Netanyahu's nickname.
"On the one issue that Bibi wants to talk about, Iran, he's missing his wingman, General Flynn. His wingman has just been shot down."
But others say the turmoil in the White House brought on by the Flynn resignation could actually help Israel, The Times noted.
"With the administration in flux," said David Makovsky, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, "you have a better chance of influencing policy before it gets set in stone.
The Washington Post reported a White House official said the U.S. will not insist on a separate Palestinian state.
"Maybe, maybe not. It's something the two sides have to agree to. It's not for us to impose that vision," the official said. "A two-state solution that doesn't bring peace is not our goal."
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