Netanyahu goes for broke in Trump's last two months
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still hoping to squeeze last-minute favors from outgoing US President Donald Trump at the expense of his relationship with the incoming administration.
The Nov. 17 New York Times report that US President Donald Trump considered an attack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility prior to his departure from the White House likely did not surprise Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Benny Gantz or any other top Israeli defense or political figure. Trump is made of different stuff than his predecessor Barack Obama, and Israel enjoys almost total access to his plans and some of his thinking.
Trump has flirted with a military option vis-a-vis Iran throughout his term. Despite his aversion to military involvement and adventurism abroad, the option was always on the table. His approval for the January 2020 assassination of commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad gave rise to assessments in Western and Israeli intelligence circles that Trump is highly unpredictable, especially in changing circumstances.
His Nov. 3 defeat by President-elect Joe Biden was just the kind of shakeup analysts have braced for. American-Israeli Hollywood tycoon Haim Saban, a major donor to the Democratic Party and friend of Democratic presidents, was asked this week on Al-Monitor’s “On Israel” podcast why Netanyahu was one of the last major world leaders to congratulate Biden, who he refrained from addressing as president-elect. Saban offered a cutting answer: “Because he’s afraid of Trump.”
The whole answer, of course, is more complicated. Netanyahu is hoping for some last-minute favors before the president leaves Washington relating to Israeli construction in the settlements, tightening relations with Arab Sunni states, additional sanctions on Iran and possibly some form of American military action against Iran’s expanding nuclear infrastructure in violation of its agreement with world powers.
