West Palm Beach: US President Donald Trump on Sunday endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel's October 27 national election, offering a public show of support after months of uncertainty over whether he would back his longtime ally.
Trump said in a post on social media that Netanyahu “has been a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combating the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Israelis are set to vote October 27, in the first national elections since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
The election could determine whether Netanyahu remains in power after one of the most consequential periods in Israel’s history, or is defeated by centrist rivals promising to usher in a new era.
Trump's endorsement
The absence of an endorsement was a setback for the Likud party politician, who had billed his tight ties to the Republican president as a selling point for staying in power.
Trump endorsed Netanyahu in past elections, and in November he sent a letter to Israeli President Isaac Herzog asking him to pardon Netanyahu on corruption charges.
But Trump's comments about Netanyahu in recent months had been much more subdued, and he repeatedly demurred when asked if he would back the prime minister.
The president, when asked in a Time magazine interview published this month about backing the Israeli leader, said, ”I'm not involved in politics anymore,” despite his campaigning for and endorsing US politicians.
Trump, especially in his second term, has sought to give his stamp of approval to candidates in foreign elections and claimed credit when they have been successful. He endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in his unsuccessful bid for a fifth term, as well as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Polish President Karol Nawrocki, and several Latin American leaders.
Netanyahu thanks Trump
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday thanked US President Donald Trump for his endorsement for the upcoming Israeli parliamentary election.
Netanyahu wrote in a post on his X social media account: "Thank you, President Trump, for the tremendous support and the joint work."
Trump-Netanyahu ties
Trump and Netanyahu have been close allies and seemed more aligned than ever in the wake of the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities in 2025. But over the course of the nearly eight-month war with Iran this year, they have had disagreements.
Trump criticised Israel's decision to attack a key Iranian gas field in the first weeks of the war. In June, he called Netanyahu “crazy." Trump also said that he was “a little bit perturbed” as Israel's fighting with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon was holding back peace talks with Iran.
Beyond Iran, Netanyahu in August rejected Trump's latest plan to advance a stalled ceasefire in Gaza, pushing back on the US administration's call for Israel to withdraw from territory it controls in Gaza until Hamas has been disarmed.
(With inputs from AP via PTI & Reuters)
