An unusual event took place May 23 when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called US Secretary of State John Kerry and warmly thanked him for the role played by the United States in halting the Egyptian initiative of “demilitarizing the Middle East of nuclear weapons,” in the course of the Review Conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) held in New York from April 27 to May 22. This conversation represented a timeout and routine-breaking event in the tense reality of almost daily deteriorating bilateral relations between Washington and Jerusalem. Most probably, the Americans — who are not used to hearing Netanyahu say "thank you" — suppressed bitter smiles.

Behind the scenes, a true diplomatic drama is taking place, a drama that has been going on for more than six years now. The seeds were already planted in April 2010 when US President Barack Obama decided to convene on his behalf an international forum to block nuclear armament. Although the Americans promised the Israelis that this summit was not intended for Israel bashing and that the United States would stand guard regarding Israel’s strategic interests on the matter, the also-new Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu decided to boycott the event at the last minute. Instead, he sent Dan Meridor, his minister of intelligence and atomic energy.

This week, Israeli sources who are well-versed in the ins and outs of the Netanyahu-Obama relationship spoke on condition of anonymity with Al-Monitor about the nuclear issue having been an important factor in the credibility crisis that erupted between the two. The sources said that Netanyahu did not trust Obama from that very moment, when it became clear to him that the long-term strategic agreements between Israel and the United States would be at risk during President Obama’s tenure.

This event had an intense and lingering impact. The issue was coordinated by then national security adviser Uzi Arad, who made several work trips to Washington; he began to anchor the secret agreements in clear, explicit correspondences, and even clearer oral agreement. All in all, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Arad brought three letters from the US administration to Jerusalem in which all these historic agreements were detailed, and even upgraded.