Trump versus Israel!

The much-lauded Hostage deal between Hamas and Israel is being touted as a masterful diplomatic victory for incoming President Donald Trump. In reality, it’s a carbon copy of the Biden deal rejected by Israel and Hamas. So, what makes this deal acceptable to both parties if it reflects the agreement they could not accept a short time ago?

The difference is to be found in two ideologically opposed Presidents. On the one hand, President Joseph Biden and the other, President-elect Donald Trump. While the Biden administration has been the most anti-Israel in history, it presented Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu with an opportunity to obfuscate on every occasion that presented him with a favourable outcome. Donald Trump’s strong support for Israel poses a problem for Netanyahu that did not exist with the Biden Presidency.

If Netanyahu were to use the same tactics with Trump as with Biden, he would risk alienating the most pro-Israel administration since Donald Trump’s first administration in 2016-20. This presents a dilemma for Israel over the next four years as the Jewish State will be pressured to make further compromises to its security and sovereign borders in pursuit of President Trump’s vision for a two-state solution carved out of Israel’s ‘Heartland.’ Netanyahu knows better than anyone what’s at stake as he juggles Israel’s self-interest with that of the United States. Any fissure within the U.S.-Israel relationship could destroy the sole true Netanyahu objective, the preservation and independence of the Jewish State from succumbing to overbearing pressure from a President who has shown in the past a willingness to discard policy while at the same time employing the means to convert others to his preferred solution by persuasion or by force.

Binyamin Netanyahu will need to employ all his political and diplomatic skills to keep Trump on his side while distancing Trump from achieving a two-state solution. Whatever the next four years bring, one thing is for certain: utopia will not be one of them.

Yosef Yigal Drever

Yosef Yigal Drever and Sylvia Drever co-founded Achdut HaLev in 2006 to reach out to the Jewish community's around the world providing support in learning Torah and promoting the 'Return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel.' Yosef Yigal made Aliya in 2014 while Sylvia his wife is an Israeli. In late 2014 Achdut HaLev concentrated all its resources towards Aliya and the rebuilding of Eretz Yisrael. Excluding none and embracing all. The commandment to settle the Land of Israel is equal in importance to all the Torah Commandments all together: (Sifri Deut 12:29)