Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he spoke with President-elect Donald Trump three times in recent days, adding that the two see “eye to eye” on Iran.
Netanyahu was the first world leader to congratulate Trump on his victory, as he was for President Joe Biden in 2020. Previously, only one phone call between Netanyahu and Trump was known before Sunday – Netanyahu revealed another two.
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“These were very good and important conversations. We see eye to eye on the Iranian threat in all its components, and the danger it poses. We also see the great opportunities that Israel faces, in the field of peace and its expansion, and in other areas,” Netanyahu said.
A senior Israeli official told Axios that Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer will be sent to Mar-a-Lago this week.
Trump’s animus for Iran is well-known. Tehran has openly signaled its intention to assassinate the president-elect in retaliation for his assassination of former Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commander Qassem Soleimani.
In January, Trump will inherit the bloodiest round of fighting between the Israelis and Palestinians since the 1948 Independence War, a war that has largely turned global opinion against Israel. The war expanded into Lebanon last month.
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Trump has remained largely ambiguous on the specifics of how he will handle the Wars in Gaza and Lebanon. During the campaign he made appeals to both Jewish and Muslim voters within the context of the conflicts, usually urging both sides to accept a peace deal, as he did with Russia and Ukraine.
He said in a July interview with Fox and Friends that Israel should end the war in Gaza “quickly,” criticizing the country’s public relations.
“Israel is not very good at public relations,” Trump said. “Israel has to handle their public relations, their public relations are not good. And they have got to get this done fast because the world is not taking lightly to it.”
Trump has also maintained a friendly relationship with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, whom he spoke with after his Tuesday victory. The two hadn’t directly spoken since Trump moved the United States Embassy to Jerusalem in his first term.
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During their phone call, Trump told Abbas that he was committed to ending the war as soon as possible and bringing peace to the region.
The Wars in Gaza and Lebanon played a part in Trump’s electoral victory, stripping away Muslim and Arab votes from Vice President Kamala Harris in key swing states such as Michigan. Trump won the Muslim bastion of Dearborn, Michigan, a prospect previously unthinkable in 2020 or 2016.