By: Fern Sidman

In a striking diplomatic pivot that has sparked concern in Jerusalem, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has abruptly canceled his planned visit to Israel, just days before joining President Donald Trump on a high-stakes tour of the Middle East. The visit, which would have been Hegseth’s first to the Jewish state in his current role, was expected to include high-level meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Instead, as The Jerusalem Post first reported and VIN News has extensively confirmed, Hegseth will proceed directly to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates — bypassing Israel altogether. The move is being widely interpreted as a reflection of the Trump administration’s evolving diplomatic calculus, particularly surrounding normalization efforts and strategic realignment in the region.

According to sources quoted by The Jerusalem Post, the decision not to stop in Israel aligns with President Trump’s new strategy to accelerate civil nuclear cooperation with Saudi Arabia — now notably detached from any requirement for Riyadh to normalize relations with Jerusalem. That condition had been a hallmark of the Biden administration’s approach, where nuclear talks with Saudi Arabia were contingent upon progress toward Arab-Israeli peace.

However, as the report at VIN News pointed out, the Trump administration’s current direction appears to favor pragmatic economic and security arrangements with Gulf powers — even if such progress comes at the expense of Israeli diplomatic inclusion.

While the Israeli government has not formally commented on the cancellation, insiders suggest the snub is being deeply felt in Jerusalem. The absence of Hegseth, a staunch Trump ally and longtime supporter of Israel, from this regional tour is being interpreted by some as a signal that Washington is prepared to bypass Israel on certain core security matters.

Further evidence of this recalibration came Friday in VIN News coverage of U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee’s comments ahead of a scheduled Channel 12 interview. Huckabee bluntly declared that the United States does not require Israeli approval to enter into negotiations — including ceasefire arrangements — with the Houthis, the Iran-backed Yemeni rebel group that has continued to launch attacks against Israeli territory.

“The United States isn’t required to get permission from Israel to make some type of arrangement that would get the Houthis from firing on our ships,” Huckabee said in a preview of his interview. While the agreement does not appear to halt Houthi aggression against Israel, Huckabee signaled that U.S. military intervention will remain limited to the protection of American citizens and assets.

“There’s 700,000 Americans living in Israel,” Huckabee added. “If the Houthis want to continue doing things to Israel and they hurt an American, then it becomes our business.”

When pressed further, Huckabee emphasized that U.S. involvement hinges on “what becomes our immediate business,” reinforcing the Trump administration’s America-first policy even within its most critical strategic partnerships.

The absence of Defense Secretary Hegseth from Jerusalem and the administration’s unilateral Houthi deal both represent a significant departure from traditional U.S.-Israel coordination. As the VIN News report observed, Israel was neither consulted on the Houthi ceasefire nor included in any of the regional nuclear discussions — a stark contrast to earlier patterns of collaboration during Trump’s first term.

Israeli officials have privately expressed alarm, especially given that Hegseth’s visit was seen as a potential opportunity to align military objectives and reaffirm mutual defense commitments. Instead, they are now bracing for an increasingly transactional U.S. approach, one that prioritizes American interests in Gulf alliances — even if it means placing Israel in a more isolated posture.

In an apparent response to these developments, both Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz have made statements in recent days asserting Israel’s readiness to “stand alone” against regional threats. Speaking Thursday morning, Katz declared, “Israel must be able to defend itself by its own forces against any threat and any enemy.”

Netanyahu echoed the sentiment, referencing his long-standing policy that “Israel will defend itself by its own forces.” These declarations, as the VIN News report noted, are viewed not only as messages to domestic audiences but also as veiled expressions of frustration with Washington’s recalibrated stance.

President Trump’s upcoming trip to Riyadh is expected to focus on finalizing a massive arms package valued at over $100 billion, with additional discussions around energy cooperation and a possible civil nuclear framework with Saudi Arabia. The president has also suggested that Riyadh increase its planned investment in the United States to $1 trillion — further highlighting the economic focus of the administration’s regional policy.

While Israel remains a vital U.S. ally, the current series of diplomatic signals — from the Hegseth cancellation to the independent Houthi deal — suggest that the Trump administration is pursuing a more flexible, multi-lateral Middle East policy, one that may at times place Israeli preferences behind broader American objectives.

As the VIN News report indicated, the implications of this pivot are already reverberating in Jerusalem’s corridors of power. For Israel, the message may be clear: in the new regional order, even close allies must adapt to fast-shifting sands.