Winning an unprecedented sixth term in office, 69-year-old Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got a boost from President Donald Trump. Trump’s been Netanyahu’s biggest fan, giving him everything Israel needs for security, but, more importantly, to move into the future with unequivocal U.S. backing. Not since former President George W. Bush has Netanyahu been given a blank check to do everything possible for Israel’s national security. After Sept. 11, Bush found out quickly that Israel was the only seamless ally in the Middle East, ready, willing and able to join the U.S. in the global fight against terrorism. Netanyahu beat 59-year-old former Military Chief Benny Gantz April 9, securing his fifth term in office, making him the longest serving prime minister in Israeli history. Netanyahu campaigned under a dark cloud of three pending corruption charges, making the victory extra sweet.
Like Trump, Netanyahu has been forced to proceed with Israel’s business despite possible indictments hanging over his head. When Special Counsel Robert Mueller released his final report March 22, essentially acquitting Trump of criminal wrongdoing, Netanyahu breathed a little easier, knowing that the same thing could happen to him. Both leaders have been forced to plow ahead with the responsibilities of state, despite what Trump called a “witch hunt.” “At a time of great turmoil in our region, we have managed not only to maintain the state’s security and stability, we have even managed to turn Israel into a rising world power,” Netanyahu said, beating back his critics. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin gave Netanyahu the mandate to form a new coalition government in the next 28 days. Netanyahu’s Likud Party already controls 65 seats in the 120-seat Knesset or Israeli parliament.
Netanyahu plans to cobble together a coalition government with Israel’s far right, ultra-orthodox Jewish parties, all supporting his strong leadership. Let there be no mistake, Netanyahu beat Gantz because a vast majority of Israeli leaders trust Netanyahu’s relationships with world leaders, keeping Israeli safe from terrorism for his 10 years in office. Netanyahu faces a big challenge on the horizon with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and U.S. Israeli Amb. David Friedman proposing a two-state solution to Palestinians. While a long-shot, Trump hopes 84-year-old Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO] Chairman Mahmoud Abbas takes it seriously. Abbas broke off contact with the U.S. after Trump announced Dec. 6, 2017 that he recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Abbas was so outraged by Trump’s move, he called the U.S. biased, severing ties with Washington.
Kushner’s two-state plan offers Palestinians East Jerusalem as its capital, together with the Gaza Strip and West Bank, except for existing Israeli settlements. Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israelis’ capital to let Abbas know that he had to get back to the peace table to negotiate a two-state solution. Palestinians call the U.S. biased because Trump won’t honor past U.N. resolutions requiring Israel to return to the pre-1967 Six-Day-War borders. Palestinians like PLO’s Abbas or Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh demand the Israel honor 1967 U.N. Resolution 242, requiring Israel to return to the pre-1967 borders. With terrorism running rampant in Syria, Iraq and neighboring Palestinians territories, Israel cannot implement U.N. Resolution 242. On March 25, Trump formally recognized formerly Syria’s Golan Heights as Israeli sovereign territory, infuriating Abass and Haniyeh.
Cutting a peace deal with Palestinians would take some arm-twisting, now that Netanyahu has built a coalition with Israel’s ultra-religious parties, many of which back settlements in the West Bank. Abbas wants all Israelis out of the West Bank, something that could be a sticking point for Kushner and Friedman as they role out a new peace plan. Gaza’s Hamas want Israel to allow thousands of Palestinians to return to Israel proper, no territories seized during the Six-Day-War. Hamas has urged Gaza residents to breach the Gaza-Israeli border to return to lands before Israel declared its independence May 14, 1948. Israel prompts outrage in the international community using lethal force to stop Palestinians from crossing into Israeli territory. Kushner and Friedman’s peace plan isn’t likely to receive a warm reception in Gaza or Ramallah, both demanding that Israel give up land inside its borders.
Netanyahu proved he has the backing of the vast majority of Israelis knowing he’s fiercely defended Israeli’s national security. Whatever corruption charges Israeli Atty. Gen. Avichai Madelblit brings against Netanyahu, it’s no likely to stick or rock Bibi’s fifth term in office. Palestinians know that under Netanyahu and Trump, they won’t be compromises Israel’s national security or winning demands because they threaten more terrorism. Abbas and Haniyeh hope that Trump doesn’t win another term, hoping that a news Democrat president would be more sympathetic to Palestinians. Whether that’s true of not, Democrats are no shoe-in for the 2020 election, potentially offering Palestinians four more years of Trump’s pro-Israeli policies. Netanyahu won’t be bullied into making dangerous concessions to Palestinians regardless of who’s in power in Washington, urging Palestinians to make a deal.
