President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that continued Israeli deployments were increasing regional tensions as Washington pushes separate withdrawal arrangements involving Syria and Lebanon.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to begin pulling Israeli forces back from territory in Syria and to move forward with a similar redeployment from southern Lebanon during a telephone conversation last week, according to American and Israeli officials.
The reported intervention places Trump directly behind U.S. diplomatic efforts to reduce Israel’s military presence beyond its borders as the administration attempts to prevent additional fighting across the region.
A U.S. official said Trump warned Netanyahu that Israeli forces remaining in Syria were contributing to instability and creating the possibility of a wider conflict, according to an account of the conversation reported by Axios.
“They don’t want you there. You should redeploy,” Trump told Netanyahu, according to the official.
Trump delivered the same general message regarding Israeli forces stationed in southern Lebanon, the official said.
Netanyahu used the conversation to argue that Israel still requires protected areas along its frontiers because of continuing security threats.
“The Prime Minister, on his part, raised the need for security zones along Israel’s borders,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in confirming Netanyahu’s position during the call.
The discussion occurred one day after Trump met Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey.
The timing connected the call with Netanyahu to the administration’s broader effort to secure regional de-escalation and establish a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Syrian territory occupied after the Assad government collapsed in late 2024.
U.S. officials are seeking an agreement under which Israeli troops would leave those areas in stages. Administration officials believe Netanyahu has resisted making the concessions necessary to complete such an arrangement.
Members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition have advocated maintaining long-term Israeli control over portions of southern Syria, complicating American efforts to secure a withdrawal.
Trump’s message indicated that the administration views the continued military presence as a source of tension rather than a sustainable security arrangement.
Washington is simultaneously attempting to implement a recently signed framework between Israel and Lebanon.
Under that agreement, Israel committed to withdraw from two designated “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon. Israeli forces, however, had not begun the promised redeployment at the time of the reported call.
The pilot-zone plan is intended to establish a phased process in which Hezbollah weapons and military infrastructure are removed, Israeli troops withdraw and Lebanese forces assume responsibility for security.
Israel and Lebanon disagree over who should determine whether the areas have been sufficiently cleared.
Israeli officials maintain that Israel must first verify that Hezbollah weapons, fighters and infrastructure are no longer present before ordering troops to leave.
Lebanese officials argue that American forces should conduct that assessment, rather than allowing Israel to decide unilaterally whether the conditions for withdrawal have been met.
That disagreement has delayed implementation even after both governments accepted the broader framework.
Trump’s request that Netanyahu begin redeploying from Lebanon suggests the administration wants Israel to take visible steps toward fulfilling the agreement rather than waiting indefinitely for every security dispute to be resolved.
The White House declined to comment directly on the private conversation but did not dispute the reported account.
“President Trump has a strong relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and Israel has always been a great ally to the United States,” a U.S. official told Axios.
“There has been no greater friend to Israel and a fighter for peace than President Trump,” the official added.
The administration’s position attempts to balance its continued support for Israel with pressure on Netanyahu to reduce military deployments that Washington believes could prolong regional instability.
Netanyahu faces a difficult domestic political environment as he considers the requests.
Israeli elections are expected in approximately three months, making territorial withdrawals particularly sensitive for the prime minister. Coalition members who favor continued Israeli control of parts of southern Syria and southern Lebanon could resist any agreement they view as weakening border security.
Netanyahu has maintained that buffer zones and military positions beyond Israel’s borders are necessary to prevent hostile forces from approaching Israeli communities.
Trump and other U.S. officials, however, are pushing for arrangements that would replace those deployments with negotiated security measures and forces controlled by neighboring governments.
In Syria, that means reaching an understanding with the government led by al-Sharaa and gradually returning territory occupied after Assad’s fall.
In Lebanon, it means activating the pilot zones, removing Hezbollah’s military presence and replacing Israeli troops with Lebanese forces under the U.S.-supported framework.
The reported phone call shows that Trump is now personally pressing Netanyahu on both fronts.
Although no timetable for withdrawal was disclosed, the president’s message was direct: Israel should begin redeploying rather than treating its current positions in Syria and Lebanon as permanent.
Whether Netanyahu acts before Israel’s elections will depend on the security guarantees offered, the response of his coalition and the administration’s ability to resolve disputes over Hezbollah disarmament and control of territory in southern Syria.
For now, Israeli forces remain deployed in both countries despite Washington’s efforts to move the region toward negotiated withdrawals.
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