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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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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.
The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.
They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.
Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.
Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.
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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip

Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.
The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.
Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.
He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.
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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.
Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.
Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.
Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.
Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.
The post Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors first appeared on Algemeiner.com.