Now, the diplomats and former Israeli military and intelligence officials said they are concerned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s close alignment with President Trump threatens support among Democrats.

They fear it could create a backlash, with Israel policy becoming tied up in Democrats’ strong resistance to Mr. Trump in 2020, as the president seeks to portray Democrats as insufficiently pro-Israel…

“There is a broad consensus that Israel had just reasons to do this, but it wasn’t smart,” said Shalom Lipner, who worked for several prime ministers including Mr. Netanyahu and is now with the Atlantic Council.

“A lot of the doors we were able to open globally, economically, financially, diplomatically, that was because Israel was punching above its weight, particularly in Washington,” he said. “If that cachet starts to diminish, that might affect Israel.”