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Trump triumphs in Iowa, vowing to end Israel conflict ‘very fast’ and dimming hopes for pro-Israel favorite Nikki Haley
(JTA) — Former President Donald Trump won a historic margin of the caucus vote in Iowa, the first presidential nominating state, advancing his campaign for a third White House bid and narrowing the path for Nikki Haley, a favorite among pro-Israel Republicans who do not want to see Trump returned to office.
Trump won 51% of the vote in the caucuses on Monday, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis coming in a distant second at 21% and Haley, the former South Carolina governor and ambassador to the United Nations, coming in third at 19%. Trump’s win was expected, but his 30% margin was the largest ever in an Iowa race that had more than two candidates.
Vivek Ramaswamy, the entrepreneur who stood out for embracing extreme right ideas and for calling for cutting defense assistance to Israel, got less than 8% of the vote and announced he was dropping out, effectively narrowing the race to three.
In his victory speech at his Des Moines headquarters, Trump lamented “the Israeli situation,” referring to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza, and said he would “get it solved very fast.” He also repeated claims he made in the past that Hamas would not have attacked Israel were he president right now.
And he sounded a rare gracious note in victory after lacerating his opponents — DeSantis especially — for months.
“I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good a good time together. We’re all having a good time together. And I think they both actually did very well. I really do. I think they both did very well,” Trump said. “I also want to congratulate Vivek because he did a hell of a job. … They are very smart, very smart people, very capable people.”
Trump’s magnanimity comes amid the growing likelihood that he will ultimately be the Republican presidential candidate to take on Joe Biden in November. DeSantis and Haley both vowed to take the fight to New Hampshire, but with each trailing Trump, their chances to prevail appeared to narrow.
Monday’s result is bound to be a disappointment for the establishment Jewish donors who were seeking an alternative to Trump and who in recent weeks flocked to Haley as her polling numbers rose and DeSantis’s dropped.
These Jewish donors appreciate Trump for his shifts during his presidency toward right-wing Israel positions but are wary now of the legal proceedings and political residue attached to his embrace of false claims that he won the 2020 election.
Haley in her concession speech said she remained the best choice for Republicans who believe Trump has lost the plot.
“I can safely say tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race,” she said, noting that her polling far outpaces DeSantis in the next two primary states, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
DeSantis, while he came in second, appears to have an even narrower path than Haley. He had invested significantly in the Iowa contest.
Democrats suggested that they relished the prospect of a 2020 rematch between Trump and Biden. Biden has made Trump’s associations with extremists and antisemites front and center in his campaigning.
“Donald Trump is the leader of an extreme MAGA movement that has fully taken over the Republican Party – yet notably in a clear sign of weakness, even as the leader of the GOP and a former president, nearly half of Iowa Republicans voted for someone else,” the Democratic National Committee said in a statement.
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The post Trump triumphs in Iowa, vowing to end Israel conflict ‘very fast’ and dimming hopes for pro-Israel favorite Nikki Haley appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Report: IDF Probes Whether Houthis Used Iranian Cluster Bomb-Bearing Missile
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
i24 News – The Israeli military said Saturday it launched a probe into the failure of its defenses to fully intercept a missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi jihadists, parts of which struck not far from the Ben Gurion airport on Friday night.
According to the Ynet website, one of the hypotheses being examined is that the projectile contained cluster munitions, similar to those used by Iran to fire at Israeli cities during the 12-day war in June. Cluster munitions pose a challenge to interceptors as they disperse smaller explosives over a wide area.
In June, Iran fired several missiles carrying scattered small bombs with the aim of increasing civilian casualties.
The IDF said on Saturday that its initial review suggests the ballistic missile from Yemen likely fragmented in mid-air. Five interceptors from various systems engaged with the missile, including THAAD, Arrow, David Sling & Iron Dome.
Authorities said that shrapnel impacted a house in the central Israeli moshav of Ginaton, yet no one was hurt, with the fragment landing in the house’s backyard.
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Iran Forces Kill Six Militants, IRNA Reports, Israel Link Seen
The Iranian flag is seen flying over a street in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 3, 2023. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iranian security forces shot dead six militants in a clash in southeastern Iran on Saturday, a day after armed rebels killed five police officers in the restive region, the official news agency IRNA reported.
IRNA said evidence showed the group was linked to Israel and may have been trained by Israel‘s Mossad spy agency. There was no immediate Israeli reaction to the allegation.
Another two members of the militant group were arrested, the report said. All but one of the militants were foreign, it added, without giving their nationality.
Iranian police said this month they had arrested as many as 21,000 suspects during the 12-day war with Israel in June.
Iran’s southeast has been the scene of sporadic clashes between security forces and armed groups, including Sunni militants and separatists who say they are fighting for greater rights and autonomy.
Tehran says some of them have ties to foreign powers and are involved in cross-border smuggling and insurgency.
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Benny Gantz Urges Time-Limited National Unity Government to Further Chances of Hostage Deal
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz attends his party’s meeting at the Knesset, Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, June 27, 2022. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz on Saturday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition politicians to form a temporary national unity government to further the chances of bringing home the hostages held in Gaza.
Addressing Netanyahu, Yair Lapid and Avigdor Liberman, Gantz said that the proposed government’s two supreme priorities would be the release of Israeli hostages held by the jihadists of Hamas and instituting universal conscription in Israel by ending the exemption from military service enjoyed by the ultra-Orthodox.
Upon attainment of the goals, the government would dissolve and call an election.
“The government’s term will begin with a hostage deal that brings everyone home,” Gantz said in a video address. “Within weeks, we will formulate an enlistment outline that would see our ultra-Orthodox brethren drafted to the military and ease the burden on those already serving. Finally, we will announce an agreed-upon election date in the spring of 2026 and pass a law to dissolve the Knesset [Israeli parliament] accordingly. This is what’s right for Israel.”