Israeli PM Netanyahu warns of ‘hostile’ future US president, calls for alliance with India — ‘It’s not a small country’ | Today’s news
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he was seeking to strengthen ties with countries such as India, while stressing the need to take advantage of the time left in US President Donald Trump’s term.
Just ahead of key US mid-term elections and Israel’s general election, Prime Minister Netanyahu has reportedly warned that the next US president could be “hostile” towards Israel.
Israel’s prime minister has expressed concern about how the next Israeli prime minister will handle relations with a potentially “hostile” US administration.
“There are two more years with President Trump, and one of the questions in this election is who will work with Trump? Who will finish the rest of the work?” Netanyahu was quoted as saying by the Jerusalem Post.
Netanyahu eyes Indian ties
Netanyahu stressed that Israel must use the remaining years of Trump’s presidency to strengthen its position while preparing for a potentially dramatic shift in American policy.
“In these two years – and the two years after that – we have to do the best we can to act when things are good, even when things are bad,” he said.
Netanyahu said he was preparing for that possibility by strengthening Israel’s alliances with countries in the Middle East and beyond.
“First, we have to do everything we can in these two years and in the next two years, in the American arena, in good times and in bad,” he said.
“The second thing is to create more alliances. I am working on that now with many countries in our region and beyond. India is not a small country and there are many of them,” the Israeli prime minister stressed, according to PTI.
He pointed to political developments in Latin America as another opportunity to expand Israel’s network of allies.
“There is a big shift in Latin America and there could be a huge change in Brazil in a few days,” Netanyahu stressed, adding: “We need to expand our pool of alliances and develop capabilities that will make us valuable to all.”
Netanyahu said this on Sunday during an event to present his security doctrine nine days before Israel’s October 27 election.
The remarks came hours before the strong endorsement he received from US President Donald Trump, who publicly expressed his support for Netanyahu’s re-election bid days before the country goes to the polls.
Netanyahu has frequently invoked India and his relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to argue that Israel is not globally isolated and to demonstrate his government’s diplomatic achievements.
Battling issues of delegitimization and alliances amid the long war, Netanyahu said in a widely publicized statement in May this year that his country has a “unique relationship” with the “huge power” of India, which has a “crazy love” for Israel.
What analysts say
According to PTI, many analysts in Israel believe that the growing apathy among Democrats in the US stems from the bad decisions Netanyahu has made over the years.
His relations with Democratic Party presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden have often been strained, presenting to his supporters the courage of a strong leader willing to stand up to US presidents to protect Israel’s interests, analysts said.
According to them, this was the cornerstone of Netanyahu’s election campaigns and the recipe for electoral success.
He is the longest serving Prime Minister of Israel.
Gadi Eisenkot, the main challenger to the Israeli prime minister in the upcoming polls, sharply criticized the presentation, calling it an empty political exercise rather than a serious national security strategy.
“Nine days before the election and three years after the most serious failure and disaster in Israel’s history, with every war front still open, Netanyahu decided to present his ‘security doctrine’ to the public,” Eisenkot said.
“Two blank pages filled with slogans that have nothing to do with security doctrine reveal more than anything the strategic vacuum in which Netanyahu has left the State of Israel and his contempt for the security of Israeli citizens,” he declared.
Eisenkot, a former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, accused Netanyahu of trying to manipulate public opinion and spread fear ahead of the election.
“This is Netanyahu’s method: to manipulate perception, scare people and try to divert attention from the parade of lies and racism surrounding his campaign today,” he said.
