U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has unexpectedly canceled a high-level visit to Israel that had been quietly planned for this coming week, raising new questions about the current state of U.S.-Israel relations under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Hegseth had been scheduled to arrive in Israel on May 12, just ahead of President Trump’s diplomatic tour through the Gulf, including stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The visit would have marked Hegseth’s first official trip to Israel in his current role, and he was expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz to discuss regional defense cooperation and mutual security interests.

However, the trip was abruptly pulled from the calendar with little explanation, fueling speculation that tensions between Washington and Jerusalem are mounting behind the scenes.

The move follows President Trump’s announcement earlier this week that the Houthis in Yemen had communicated their intention to halt attacks on American ships. In response, Trump ordered a suspension of U.S. military strikes on the group—reportedly without first informing Israeli leadership. That decision is believed to have caught Israeli officials off guard, given Israel’s own strategic concerns about Iranian proxies in the region.

Compounding the strain, new reports emerged days later that the U.S. has relaxed its prior insistence that Saudi normalization with Israel be a precondition for advancing nuclear cooperation with Riyadh. The previous framework linked progress on a U.S.-Saudi defense agreement and nuclear program with formal diplomatic recognition of Israel. But Saudi leaders continue to insist that no such normalization will occur without tangible steps toward Palestinian statehood—a demand growing louder amid the Gaza conflict.

These rapid shifts in American policy have sparked concern in Jerusalem and speculation that the once-close rapport between Trump and Netanyahu may be fraying.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has unexpectedly canceled a high-level visit to Israel that had been quietly planned for this coming week, raising new questions about the current state of U.S.-Israel relations under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Hegseth had been scheduled to arrive in Israel on May 12, just ahead of President Trump’s diplomatic tour through the Gulf, including stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The visit would have marked Hegseth’s first official trip to Israel in his current role, and he was expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz to discuss regional defense cooperation and mutual security interests.

However, the trip was abruptly pulled from the calendar with little explanation, fueling speculation that tensions between Washington and Jerusalem are mounting behind the scenes.

The move follows President Trump’s announcement earlier this week that the Houthis in Yemen had communicated their intention to halt attacks on American ships. In response, Trump ordered a suspension of U.S. military strikes on the group—reportedly without first informing Israeli leadership. That decision is believed to have caught Israeli officials off guard, given Israel’s own strategic concerns about Iranian proxies in the region.

Compounding the strain, new reports emerged days later that the U.S. has relaxed its prior insistence that Saudi normalization with Israel be a precondition for advancing nuclear cooperation with Riyadh. The previous framework linked progress on a U.S.-Saudi defense agreement and nuclear program with formal diplomatic recognition of Israel. But Saudi leaders continue to insist that no such normalization will occur without tangible steps toward Palestinian statehood—a demand growing louder amid the Gaza conflict.

These rapid shifts in American policy have sparked concern and speculation that the once-close rapport between Trump and Netanyahu may be cooling.