“This ultranationalist, messianic Israeli government is not America’s ally.”

“The notion that Israel has a government that is no longer behaving as an American ally, and should not be considered as such, is a shocking and bitter pill for Israel’s friends in Washington to swallow — but swallow it they must.”

“Netanyahu put his personal interests ahead of Israel’s and America’s.”

“Netanyahu’s plan to reinvade Gaza is not to stand up a moderate alternative to Hamas, led by the Palestinian Authority. It is for a permanent Israeli military occupation, whose unstated goal will be to pressure all Palestinians to leave.”

This approach risks creating a “permanent insurgency — Vietnam on the Mediterranean,” according to Friedman.

Friedman closes with a stark warning, quoting a recent Haaretz editorial about the human cost of the ongoing conflict:

“On Tuesday, the Israel Air Force killed nine children, between the ages of 3 and 14… None of this will change the bitter fact: Israel killed them. Our hands did this. We must not avert our eyes. We must wake up and cry out loudly: Stop the war.”

He urges President Trump to distance himself from Netanyahu’s government to preserve the U.S.-Arab-Israeli alliance and avoid being complicit in potential war crimes.