As smoke and debris swirled over the Syrian presidential palace, the chatter in the West Wing grew louder: Benjamin Netanyahu is out of control.

What they’re saying: “Bibi acted like a madman. He bombs everything all the time,” one White House official told Axios, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. “This could undermine what Trump is trying to do.”

• A second senior U.S. official also pointed to the shelling of a church in Gaza this week, which led President Trump to call Netanyahu and demand an explanation. “The feeling is that every day there is something new. What the f***?”
• A third U.S. official said there’s growing skepticism inside the Trump administration about Netanyahu — a sense that his trigger finger is too itchy and he’s too disruptive. “Netanyahu is sometimes like a child who just won’t behave.”
• Netanyahu’s spokesperson Ziv Agmon did not respond to a request for comment.

Why it matters: Six U.S. officials tell Axios that despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that halted this week’s escalation in Syria on Friday, this week ended with the White House significantly more alarmed about Netanyahu and his regional policies.

• However, Trump has so far refrained from public criticism and it’s unclear if he shares his advisers’ frustrations. It is not totally clear whether he shares his advisers’ recent concerns about Israel’s actions in Syria.

Driving the news: On Tuesday, Israel bombed a convoy of Syrian army tanks en route to the city of Suwayda to respond to violent clashes between a Druze militia and armed Bedouin tribesmen, which had killed over 700 people as of Saturday according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

• Israel claimed the convoy crossed into a zone of southern Syria it demands be demilitarized, and that the Syrian military was participating in attacks on the Druze minority, which Syria denies.
• U.S. envoy Tom Barrack asked his Israeli counterparts on Tuesday to stand down to allow for a diplomatic resolution, and the Israelis committed to do so, according to a U.S. official.
• Instead, after a pause, Israel escalated the strikes. On Wednesday, Israel dropped bombs on Syria’s military headquarters and near the presidential palace.

Friction point: “The bombing in Syria caught the president and the White House by surprise. The president doesn’t like turning on the television and seeing bombs dropped in a country he is seeking peace in and made a monumental announcement to help rebuild,” a U.S. official said.

• Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Netanyahu and his team to stop on Wednesday.
• Netanyahu agreed to do so in return for the Syrian military withdrawing from Suwayda.
• But by then countries including Turkey and Saudi Arabia had conveyed angry messages to the Trump administration about Israel’s actions, and several senior U.S. officials had complained directly to Trump about Netanyahu.

Behind the scenes: Among those officials were Barrack and White House envoy Steve Witkoff — both close friends Trump’s, according to a U.S. official.

Read More Here