SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
Tel Aviv: US President Donald Trump has made a stunning late intervention in Israel’s elections, endorsing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a move the veteran leader hopes could help him to remain in office.
Netanyahu had eagerly sought the official endorsement of his longtime ally while his rivals had urged Trump to refrain from interfering in the contest, reflecting the belief that the president’s verdict could affect the outcome.
Trump’s once warm relationship with Netanyahu has appeared to cool since their war in Iran began to falter, raising doubts about whether he would endorse a candidate.
But, in an enthusiastic social media post peppered with capital letters and exclamation points, Trump delivered his “Complete and Total Endorsement” of Netanyahu, urging Israelis to support him when they vote on October 27.
“Bibi Netanyahu has been a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump said in his post, uploaded in the early hours of Monday Australian time.
“If Israel has the wrong Leader, which would be anyone other than Bibi, America will have to do this work ourselves, and I am not inclined to do so.
“Bibi Netanyahu has been Strong, Brave, and Brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition, including that coming from even Israel, itself. Despite all of that, he has endured and, in fact, he has thrived!”
The US is Israel’s most important security partner, and Trump remains popular in Israel, despite the war in Iran failing to deliver a decisive blow against the regime in Tehran.
Trump did not meet Netanyahu during the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month, triggering speculation of a snub, but the longstanding and close relationship between the two conservative leaders ultimately overcame any friction and frustration.
Netanyahu has viewed his close relationship with Trump and his ability to influence the American leader – cultivated over two presidential terms – as a key advantage over his rivals for the prime ministership.
However, Nadav Pollak, a lecturer on Middle East affairs at Reichman University, questioned whether Trump’s endorsement would shift voter perceptions of a polarising figure who was first elected in 1996 and in power for most of the time since 2009.
“Not sure that a Trump endorsement is worth so much for him right now,” he said on social media.
Describing Trump as “my dear friend Donald”, Netanyahu responded in a video, effusively thanking him for his “extraordinary” endorsement and praising Trump as the best friend Israel had ever had in the White House.
The world, Israel and the Jewish people have been lucky to have a leader of “such clarity, consistency, conviction and courage” as Trump, Netanyahu said.
Trump has made a habit of endorsing world leaders running for election in his second stint in office, including Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Colombian conservative candidate, Abelardo de la Espriella.
Netanyahu has faced grim poll numbers for most of his past term in office, and many thought his career was over after he failed to prevent the worst security failure in Israel’s history: the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, during which about 1200 people were killed or taken hostage.
But his coalition government, the most right-wing in Israeli history, saw out a full term.
The latest average of three main television polls by Israeli newspaper Haaretz shows the bloc of parties aligned with Netanyahu on 51 seats, the anti-Netanyahu Zionist bloc also on 51 seats and 18 seats unaligned to either bloc, suggesting an extremely tight result.
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Matthew Knott is the foreign affairs and national security correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X, Facebook or email.
