‘Winning together’: Trump endorses ‘outstanding Warrior’ Netanyahu ahead of Israeli elections

In a fresh backing, US President Donald Trump on Sunday called on Israelis to cast their ballots for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in upcoming elections, citing the US-Israel war against Iran as an example of "winning together."

“When you go to the Polls please remember that Bibi has been an outstanding Warrior Prime Minister,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.

“Israel was called The Little Satan, with the United States being called The Big Satan, by some very evil people. There can no longer be the chant heard around the World of “Death to America, Death to Israel,” and there won’t be,” he wrote. “Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister, we have to finish the job that we started!”

Netanyahu has campaigned heavily on his security credentials.

Meanwhile, his election contender Gadi Eisenkot vowed to unite the country as he held his final major rally before the vote. Eisenkot has cast Netanyahu as unfit to lead and pledged a state commission of inquiry into the failings that led to Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack under the incumbent's watch.

Polls had shown Netanyahu and Eisenkot running neck and neck before a ban on new polling took effect over the three days leading up to Tuesday's vote.

Netanyahu's critics accuse him of putting his political survival above the greater good, and he is currently facing trial on corruption charges, which he denies.

Netanyahu vs Eisenkot

Over the course of the campaign, Netanyahu has played to Israeli voters' opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state, and posters have been splashed across the country with the slogan "Either the Right or Palestine".

Netanyahu also touted the still-unresolved war that he launched against Iran alongside Trump, seeking to tar his main rival as being soft on the Islamic Republic. He suggested the ex-general and his allies "want to create a Palestinian state, a catastrophe for Israel".

"They will not destroy Iran's nuclear programme," Netanyahu told Channel 14. "We've done 90% of the work, 10% remains. Who is going to do it? Eisenkot and the Muslim Brotherhood? No. Only I can do it."

Eisenkot has said he is opposed to a Palestinian state, but has vowed to crack down on extremist West Bank settlers who have attacked Palestinians with impunity.

On Sunday, Netanyahu posted an AI-generated image of a mushroom cloud engulfing Tel Aviv, alongside text attributed to a right-wing political commentator calling Iran an existential threat and arguing that all the other issues discussed this election season were trivial in comparison.

In a post on X addressing Netanyahu, Eisenkot accused the premier of playing up the Iran threat when it suited him politically.

"You have once again failed spectacularly and blatantly to achieve the war objectives you yourself set," he added.

Longtime opposition leader Yair Lapid, who has promised to join a coalition with Eisenkot, said Netanyahu had "lost his grip".

"Yesterday, Netanyahu announced that US security aid was over and that sanctions would crush our economy. This morning, he posted a video in which an atomic bomb lands on Tel Aviv," he said on X. "This man has lost his grip. We absolutely must send him home."

(Agency inputs)

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