Netanyahu basks in Trump endorsement week before election

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu basked in Donald Trump's endorsement on Monday (Oct 19) ahead of close-fought elections, airing a phone call in which the US president predicted he would win and suggested they may again attack Iran together.

A day after Trump publicly endorsed Netanyahu for the Oct 27 vote, Netanyahu put out a video of a telephone call in which the two right-wing leaders lavish praise on each other.

"I think you're going to have a tremendous victory, actually," Trump can be heard saying on speakerphone.

"You're the man I want by my side, Bibi," Trump said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.

Netanyahu - while reminding the famously loose-lipped president that they were on an open line - hailed Trump for joining Israel in attacking Iran in February.

"Donald, we have a job to finish," Netanyahu beamed. "We'll finish it together. We'll finish it, and no one else will do it."

Netanyahu did not elaborate but again described Iran's clerical state, which remains in power nearly eight months after the joint attack, as "the greatest danger".

Netanyahu appeared to be speaking to Trump from an air force base from which he earlier released a video warning that he had been assured of Israel's "capability to strike our enemies the moment it is required".

"POLARISING FIGURE"

Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, had waited for years for a US president who would agree to attack Iran. But Trump abruptly switched course in April and reached a ceasefire with Tehran that is now in tatters.

Polls showed Trump's approval rating in Israel plunged afterwards.

An Axios report on Tuesday that US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth met Netanyahu in Israel the previous day added to speculation that US-Israeli attacks on Iran could resume.

The Pentagon declined to comment on the reported meeting.

David Makovsky, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said it was unclear whether Trump's endorsement would have a "huge impact" on the Israeli electorate.

Netanyahu is "a polarising figure. You either love him or hate him", Makovsky said. "How many undecideds are there? Not that many."

Trump went ahead with the endorsement despite open tensions involving top US officials. Vice President JD Vance has issued stinging criticism of Israel over the Iran war, saying it had no friends other than the United States and needs to get in line with US policy.

Makovsky said Trump's move may indicate that he secured an agreement from Netanyahu in return for the endorsement, although it was unclear on what.

The Israel Hayom newspaper - in a report denied by the US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee - said recently that the Trump administration was pushing Netanyahu to form a government that no longer includes his far-right allies, who have championed settler extremists in the West Bank and urged the expulsion of all of Gaza's Palestinians.

The newspaper said that a more moderate new unity government could then work on normalising Israel's relations with more Arab and Islamic states. Netanyahu mentioned in the call to Trump expanding the so-called Abraham Accords, in which the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco normalised with Israel in 2020.

Netanyahu described Trump as "by far, the greatest friend Israel has ever had".

Since his first term, Trump has taken several major steps to back Israel, including moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, which most countries do not recognise as Israel's capital due to the dispute with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu's top challenger, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, voiced respect for Trump after the endorsement, but insisted, "Only Israelis can choose their leader."

"TREATED UNFAIRLY"

Trump, 80, and Netanyahu, who turns 77 on Wednesday, have forged a close partnership at a time when both are vastly unpopular in public opinion in most democratic nations.

The pair have also managed to avoid prosecution while in power, with Netanyahu facing charges of corruption that could land him in prison.

Trump, who remains bitter over cases against him including over his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss, told Netanyahu he was a "warrior" who had been "treated unfairly by your country and by some others".

Netanyahu faces an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the relentless Israeli offensive in Gaza in response to the Oct 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.

Netanyahu has denounced the charges, while the Trump administration has tried to dismantle the court in The Hague through sanctions.