Such a climate of gloom in Jerusalem ahead of a visit by a senior US official is unheard of. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the right-hand man of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s best friend President Donald Trump, announced his intention to arrive in Israel for a lightning stopover in the morning hours of Oct. 18, right after his dramatic visit to Turkey. Pompeo was supposed to try to publicly assuage Israeli phobias that have soared since it turned out that Trump was speedily pulling out of Syria and leaving the arena to Turkey, Russia and Iran.
“It is clear that he will sit with Netanyahu and explain what a tremendous achievement Trump has scored with the Turks on the cease-fire,” a senior Israeli diplomatic source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity on the eve of the planned meeting. “The problem is that no one in the room will believe him.”
