Trump backs Netanyahu as Israel polls show deadlock

U.S. President Donald Trump gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu his “Complete and Total Endorsement” in a Truth Social post over the weekend, eight days before Israelis vote on Oct. 27 in an election that polls show neither side is close to winning outright.

The latest surveys give Netanyahu’s bloc between 49 and 53 seats and the bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot between 50 and 55, according to a Jerusalem Post roundup. A majority in the 120-seat Knesset, Israel’s parliament, takes 61.

Trump called Netanyahu “a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace,” ABC News in Australia reported. “If Israel has the wrong Leader, which would be anyone other than Bibi, America will have to do this work ourselves,” he wrote, in a reference to the confrontation with Iran.

Netanyahu thanked his “dear friend Donald” in a video message and said he was “honored” and “humbled,” Time reported. He also shared the endorsement online with the caption “A friend of Israel wants Netanyahu to win,” ABC reported.

Eisenkot, who leads the Yashar party, said at an event in Tel Aviv that he appreciates Trump but that only Israelis will choose their next prime minister, according to Time.

The endorsement came after months of friction between the two leaders. Time reported that Trump favoured negotiations with Iran while Netanyahu pressed for military action, and that Israel’s operations in Lebanon complicated U.S.-led peace efforts. The United States and Israel struck Iran in late February, starting a conflict that has disrupted global markets. Axios reported that Trump had declined four times in recent weeks to endorse Netanyahu publicly.

Two polls released Sunday and reported by Haaretz show the same pattern. Channel 13 gave Yashar 20 seats and Netanyahu’s Likud party 18, with the Eisenkot bloc at 51 seats and the Netanyahu bloc at 50. The poll surveyed 1,016 people and has a margin of error of 3.1 per cent.

Channel 12 put Yashar at 24 seats and Likud at 21, with the Eisenkot bloc at 55 and the Netanyahu bloc at 51. That poll surveyed 507 people and has a margin of error of 4.4 per cent.

The Jerusalem Post’s average of four polls put Yashar at 21.5 seats and Likud at 19. It said the Arab parties, which sit outside both camps and averaged about 13.75 seats, and several small factions near the electoral threshold could decide who can form a government. The newspaper noted that its average is not a new survey or a forecast.

ABC reported that Likud could finish second yet Netanyahu could still stay in office after coalition negotiations. Time said it is unclear how much of a boost the endorsement will give him. Time also cited a Jewish People Policy Institute poll this month that found most Israelis still see Trump as a great friend of Israel, and a separate one that found trust in him has eroded.

For Canada, the vote lands as Ottawa adjusts its Middle East policy. As Canada News Media reported on Sept. 8, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Canada would bring in restrictions on trade in goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The United Kingdom’s own settlement sanctions regime took effect this month. The shape of the next Israeli government will influence how those measures are received.

Israelis vote Oct. 27. Official results are published by the Central Elections Committee, and coalition talks are expected to follow any result that leaves neither bloc with 61 seats.

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Via Time, ABC News (Australia), Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post, with additional reporting from Axios.