With the US presidential election heading into the home stretch, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will likely be hoping for Donald Trump to return to the White House, reports BSS.
Trump's last time in office was good for Netanyahu, and in the lead-up to the November 5 vote, the former president has sent mixed messages on his Middle East policy.
His remarks have ranged from encouraging Netanyahu to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities -- which Israel refrained from in its strikes Saturday -- to criticising the Israeli leader, saying "the October 7 attack would never have happened if I was president" and that he will pressure Israel to end the wars.
Yet it is these unclear policies, combined with Trump's "make America great again" campaign slogan, that analysts say Netanyahu is hoping for.
An isolationist, Trump as a Republican president might give Netanyahu more freedom to navigate the conflicts that continue to rage in Gaza and Lebanon.
"One of Netanyahu's milestones is the US election. He is praying for a Trump victory, which he thinks will give him a lot of freedom of movement, which will let him do what he aspires," Gidon Rahat, political science professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told AFP.
Aviv Bushinsky, a political commentator and Netanyahu's former chief of staff, similarly said: "His experience with Republicans is very good... unlike with the Democrats who are much tougher on him."
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
