2 min read
The election of Donald Trump was greeted with jubilation by the leaders of Israel's right-wing.
Buoyed by muscular pro-Israel statements from the president-elect and his aides throughout the campaign, and the fact that any mention of establishing a Palestinian state was expunged from the Republican platform, they confidently predicted a honeymoon with the new administration.
"Trump's victory is a great opportunity for Israel," said Naftali Bennett, Education Minister and leader of the hardline Jewish Home party, adding: "The age of the Palestinian state is over."
In contrast, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not exactly effusive. While describing Mr Trump as "a true friend of Israel", he was careful not to mention any policy overlaps. He could have been expected to rejoice at the prospect of having a Republican in the Oval Office, but Mr Netanyahu seems to be wary of President Trump.
Mr Trump's foreign policy remains an enigma.
He has promised, like many presidential candidates before him, to defy diplomatic orthodoxy and move the US's embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
He has also said that as a veteran deal-maker, he believes he can be the president who will deliver the elusive grail of an Israel-Palestine peace agreement. But before the new president is sworn in, Mr Netanyahu has more immediate worries closer to home.
"No one knows anything substantial about Trump's policy," warned retired Major-General Yaakov Amidror, former Israeli Security Council chief.
"Now we have to see how we can contribute to how his policy is shaped," he added, referring to informal talks with the incoming President's national security team, which has yet to be announced.
The right-wing elements in the Israeli cabinet are hoping this influence on American policy will be in the shape of decreasing international pressure over the Palestinian issue, but Mr Netanyahu has different
priorities.
Over the past year, since Barack Obama secured the necessary votes in the Senate to overcome a veto against his landmark nuclear agreement with Iran, Mr Netanyahu has muted his rhetoric on the Iranian threat.
Sources close to the prime minister confirm, however, that Iran remains his "number one priority" and he sees the new administration in Washington as an opportunity to change American policy in this regard.
He does not believe Mr Trump will actually follow through with this campaign promise to "renegotiate" the Iran deal, but there are more than enough other issues which he hopes the Trump White House will challenge Tehran on.
These include Iran's continuing tests of ballistic missiles and most crucially, its support for Hizbollah and other proxies throughout the region.
The right-wing in Mr Netanyahu's coalition, including many members of his own Likud party, are currently challenging him over the High
Court order to dismantle the Amona settlement in the West Bank by December 25.
On Sunday, the cabinet's legislative committee voted against his wishes for a law that would bypass the High Court's ruling.
Mr Netanyahu is aware that
any such move will be overruled by the court.
He is also wary of provoking the Obama administration during its last two months, and does not want to push Mr Obama into making a final gesture on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He fears such a move would limit Israel in further negotiations with the Palestinians.
For nearly eight years Mr Netanyahu has withstood American pressure on the Palestinian issue, but was foiled by Mr Obama's Iranian diplomacy.
His first priority is to try and overturn that defeat.
