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‘I Can Finally Breathe’: Israel Welcomes Trump’s Election Victory
Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump appears on a congratulatory billboard for the 2024 US presidential election, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Nov. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Thomas Peter
The news of Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election was met with enthusiasm across much of Israel on Wednesday morning, starting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s effusive congratulations to the president-elect and extending — if polls are to be believed — to an overwhelming majority of the population.
“Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback!” Netanyahu wrote on X/Twitter.
“Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America. This is a huge victory!” he added, before signing off, “in true friendship.”
In the run-up to the election, several polls showed that Trump was clearly the favorite for Israelis. The Israel Democracy Institute found that nearly two-thirds of Israelis believe Trump is better for Israel’s interests, compared with only 13 percent who say his election opponent, incumbent US Vice President Kamala Harris, would have made a better fit.
“I just feel like I can finally breathe a sigh of relief,” Elad Bookman, who was up late Tuesday night at an election watch party, told The Algemeiner.
“We know that Trump is good for Israel because we’ve seen him in action,” Bookman went on, citing Trump’s history of pro-Israel policies in his former tenure. These include moving the US embassy to Jerusalem; declaring Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a strategic region on Israel’s northern border previously controlled by Syria; withdrawing from the nuclear deal with Iran, which placed temporary restrictions on the regime’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions; and brokering the Abraham Accords, normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab and Muslim countries.
But Helit Barel, a former senior official at Israel’s National Security Council and an expert on US-Israel relations, cautioned that questions remain about how his policies will influence Israel’s regional concerns, saying “the true impact of a Trump presidency versus the current one remains to be seen.”
For Barel, the most pressing foreign policy challenge awaiting Trump is Iran’s proximity to nuclear capability. “Obviously Trump will not want to see Iran crossing that threshold on his watch,” she said, but added that the president-elect may falter in engaging Iran with direct military action, especially because of the economic costs associated with doing so.
“He’s not interested in expensive wars, and he’s quite focused on the economy, which is foremost on the minds of the American public,” Barrel told The Algemeiner.
Alternatively, while Trump had clearly been “antagonistic” toward the Obama administrations -brokered Iran nuclear deal, withdrawing from it in 2018, he may want to negotiate a new agreement, with much stricter terms. “He may take advantage of the fact that Iran appears to be desperate for a deal,” she said.
Barel also cautioned against over-enthusiasm on Netanyahu’s part, pointing to a checkered history between the two leaders, which includes Trump’s anger over Netanyahu’s decision not to participate in the strike on Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and ire at the Israeli leader’s perceived betrayal in congratulating incumbent US President Joe Biden after the 2020 election. She also noted more recent criticisms of the Israeli premier’s wartime leadership in Gaza.
“We’ll find out if he’s truly moved past the grievances he had with Netanyahu,” she said.
But according to Attila Somfalvi, a political commentator and journalist with Ynet, the election result translated into a “happy day” for Netanyahu.
“Netanyahu woke up to a better prospect for the future,” Somfalvi said. “From a political standpoint, it’s important to remember that Netanyahu and Trump are on good terms, and so are their respective circles.”
According to Somfalvi, the two leaders had spoken on the phone several times in recent months, discussing matters regarding Iran.
“Trump reportedly told Netanyahu, ‘Do what you need to do.’ So it’s very possible he gave a green light here, with the idea of resolving the Iranian issue by Jan. 20,” Somfalvi said, referring to the date when Trump will officially return to the White House.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday also congratulated Trump’s “historic return to the White House,” calling him “a true and dear friend of Israel, and a champion of peace and cooperation in our region.”
“I look forward to working with you to strengthen the ironclad bond between our peoples, to build a future of peace and security for the Middle East, and to uphold our shared values,” he wrote on X.
Gideon Sa’ar, the incoming foreign minister set to take over from Israel Katz, congratulated Trump “on a truly historic victory.”
“As a true friend of Israel with a proven commitment to Israel’s security, we welcome your strong and dedicated leadership as we work to build a better future of security and cooperation for the Middle East,” Sa’ar wrote on X.
In a move that rocked Israel, Netanyahu on Tuesday night fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, citing a “lack of trust.”
Katz, who is replacing Gallant, posted a photo of himself along with Trump, writing, “Together, we’ll strengthen the US-Israel alliance, bring back the hostages [seized by Hamas during its rampage across southern Israel last Oct. 7], and stand firm to defeat the axis of evil led by Iran.”
The post ‘I Can Finally Breathe’: Israel Welcomes Trump’s Election Victory first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran, US Task Experts to Design Framework for a Nuclear Deal, Tehran Says
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Iran and the United States agreed on Saturday to task experts to start drawing up a framework for a potential nuclear deal, Iran’s foreign minister said, after a second round of talks following President Donald Trump’s threat of military action.
At their second indirect meeting in a week, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi negotiated for almost four hours in Rome with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, through an Omani official who shuttled messages between them.
Trump, who abandoned a 2015 nuclear pact between Tehran and world powers during his first term in 2018, has threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal swiftly that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran, which says its nuclear program is peaceful, says it is willing to discuss limited curbs to its atomic work in return for lifting international sanctions.
Speaking on state TV after the talks, Araqchi described them as useful and conducted in a constructive atmosphere.
“We were able to make some progress on a number of principles and goals, and ultimately reached a better understanding,” he said.
“It was agreed that negotiations will continue and move into the next phase, in which expert-level meetings will begin on Wednesday in Oman. The experts will have the opportunity to start designing a framework for an agreement.”
The top negotiators would meet again in Oman next Saturday to “review the experts’ work and assess how closely it aligns with the principles of a potential agreement,” he added.
Echoing cautious comments last week from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he added: “We cannot say for certain that we are optimistic. We are acting very cautiously. There is no reason either to be overly pessimistic.”
There was no immediate comment from the US side following the talks. Trump told reporters on Friday: “I’m for stopping Iran, very simply, from having a nuclear weapon. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. I want Iran to be great and prosperous and terrific.”
Washington’s ally Israel, which opposed the 2015 agreement with Iran that Trump abandoned in 2018, has not ruled out an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.
Since 2019, Iran has breached and far surpassed the 2015 deal’s limits on its uranium enrichment, producing stocks far above what the West says is necessary for a civilian energy program.
A senior Iranian official, who described Iran’s negotiating position on condition of anonymity on Friday, listed its red lines as never agreeing to dismantle its uranium enriching centrifuges, halt enrichment altogether or reduce its enriched uranium stockpile below levels agreed in the 2015 deal.
The post Iran, US Task Experts to Design Framework for a Nuclear Deal, Tehran Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says Fate of US-Israeli Hostage Unknown After Guard Killed in Israel Strike
Varda Ben Baruch, the grandmother of Edan Alexander, 19, an Israeli army volunteer kidnapped by Hamas, attends a special Kabbalat Shabbat ceremony with families of other hostages, in Herzliya, Israel October 27, 2023 REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki
Hamas said on Saturday the fate of an Israeli dual national soldier believed to be the last US citizen held alive in Gaza was unknown, after the body of one of the guards who had been holding him was found killed by an Israeli strike.
A month after Israel abandoned the ceasefire with the resumption of intensive strikes across the breadth of Gaza, Israel was intensifying its attacks.
President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said in March that freeing Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old New Jersey native who was serving in the Israeli army when he was captured during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks that precipitated the war, was a “top priority.” His release was at the center of talks held between Hamas leaders and US negotiator Adam Boehler last month.
Hamas had said on Tuesday that it had lost contact with the militants holding Alexander after their location was hit in an Israeli attack. On Saturday it said the body of one of the guards had been recovered.
“The fate of the prisoner and the rest of the captors remains unknown,” said Hamas armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades’ spokesperson Abu Ubaida.
“We are trying to protect all the hostages and preserve their lives … but their lives are in danger because of the criminal bombings by the enemy’s army,” Abu Ubaida said.
The Israeli military did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Hamas released 38 hostages under the ceasefire that began on January 19. Fifty-nine are still believed to be held in Gaza, fewer than half of them still alive.
Israel put Gaza under a total blockade in March and restarted its assault on March 18 after talks failed to extend the ceasefire. Hamas says it will free remaining hostages only under an agreement that permanently ends the war; Israel says it will agree only to a temporary pause.
On Friday, the Israeli military said it hit about 40 targets across the enclave over the past day. The military on Saturday announced that a 35-year-old soldier had died in combat in Gaza.
NETANYAHU STATEMENT
Late on Thursday Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas’ Gaza chief, said the movement was willing to swap all remaining 59 hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel in return for an end to the war and reconstruction of Gaza.
He dismissed an Israeli offer, which includes a demand that Hamas lay down its arms, as imposing “impossible conditions.”
Israel has not responded formally to Al-Hayya’s comments, but ministers have said repeatedly that Hamas must be disarmed completely and can play no role in the future governance of Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to give a statement later on Saturday.
Hamas on Saturday also released an undated and edited video of Israeli hostage Elkana Bohbot. Hamas has released several videos over the course of the war of hostages begging to be released. Israeli officials have dismissed past videos as propaganda.
After the video was released, Bohbot’s family said in a statement that they were “deeply shocked and devastated,” and expressed concern for his mental and physical condition.
“How much longer will he be expected to wait and ‘stay strong’?” the family asked, urging for all of the 59 hostages who are still held in Gaza to be brought home.
The post Hamas Says Fate of US-Israeli Hostage Unknown After Guard Killed in Israel Strike first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Oman’s Sultan to Meet Putin in Moscow After Iran-US Talks
FILE PHOTO: Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said gives a speech after being sworn in before the royal family council in Muscat, Oman January 11, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Sultan Al Hasani/File Photo
Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said is set to visit Moscow on Monday, days after the start of a round of Muscat-mediated nuclear talks between the US and Iran.
The sultan will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the Kremlin said.
Iran and the US started a new round of nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday to resolve their decades-long standoff over Tehran’s atomic aims, under the shadow of President Donald Trump’s threat to unleash military action if diplomacy fails.
Ahead of Saturday’s talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. Following the meeting, Lavrov said Russia was “ready to assist, mediate and play any role that will be beneficial to Iran and the USA.”
Moscow has played a role in Iran’s nuclear negotiations in the past as a veto-wielding U.N. Security Council member and signatory to an earlier deal that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.
The sultan’s meetings in Moscow visit will focus on cooperation on regional and global issues, the Omani state news agency and the Kremlin said, without providing further detail.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss trade and economic ties, the Kremlin added.
The post Oman’s Sultan to Meet Putin in Moscow After Iran-US Talks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.