Benjamin Netanyahu He was the first to congratulate Trump after the North American elections, and surely the one who was most satisfied with the results in the entire Middle East. He described the elections as a “huge victory” for his country too, and called the Republican the “best friend” Israel has ever had in the White House.
No wonder: under the first Trump administration, the United States moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognized the holy city as “indivisible” capital of the State of Israel, validated Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights in 1967, and sponsored the Abraham Accords between Netanyahu’s government and the United Arab Emirates.
However, the euphoria of the Israelis – who have carte blanche for the next four years – after the American elections did not translate into the discouragement of the Arabs. After a demoralizing year of Biden’s handling of the Gaza and Lebanon wars, many people in the Middle East wait for any changes in US foreign policy Like Maywater, the continuity promised by Vice President Kamala Harris gave no one hope.
Hamas’s first reaction to Trump’s victory was in fact to ask the Republican to make more efforts for a ceasefire than Biden. Mahmoud Abbaspresident of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, went further: he congratulated the president-elect and expressed his enthusiasm for working together for regional stability.
The truth is, in his last weeks of campaignTrump promised that I won’t start any more wars and that would finish those that were already in progress. This message, which resonated with part of the Arab-American electorate, also convinced many people in the region he spoke about.
Attendees at a Donald Trump rally
In the Lebanese case, the figure of Massaad BoulosTrump’s father-in-law, millionaire and prominent defender of the interests of the Christian right in the small Arab country of the United States.
Boulos, father of her husband Tiffany Trumpcontributed to the seduction of Donald Trump 2.5 million Arab-American voterspresented the candidate as a “man of peace” capable of putting an end to the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, and should become the special envoy of the American president in this country, after Amos Hochstein. However, the Lebanese businessman’s political proposals to effectively end the war remain unknown.
In other parts of Lebanon, hope lies in Trump’s commitment to ending the war. This week, the president of Arab Americans for Trump, Bishara Bahbahtold The Times of Israel that the president-elect would impose an arms embargo on Israel if Netanyahu does not end the war before the Republican takes office on January 20.
The President of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, of the Amal party, linked to Hezbollah—, assured that Trump had signed a commitment to end the war in Lebanon during his visit to a Lebanese restaurant in Michigan.
In Ramallah, Abbas is more than willing to work with Trump to make Gaza ceasefire named after him the Palestinian Authority. In addition to congratulating the Republican shortly after his victory and condemning the assassination attempt of which he was the victim at the start of the campaign, Abbas initiated on this occasion a whole strategy of rapprochement with the elected president, despite the rivalry during his first administration, in which the Palestinian leader banned his officials from contacting their American counterparts.
On Friday, Abbas spoke by telephone with Trump and both They discussed the possibility of meeting in the near futureaccording to Ziad Abu Amr, Abbas’s close confidant and senior PA official. But the Palestinian leader’s efforts to reach out to Trump began well before the election, precisely with Boulos’ help.
Palestinians and Lebanese met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September in New York. During the meeting, Abbas declared his readiness to sign peace with Israel on the basis of a two-state solution and expressed willingness to welcome international observers to a future Palestinian state to guarantee Israel’s security, according to Bahbah’s statements.
Some Palestinians in Gaza, who endured a devastating Israeli bombardment, also expressed hope that Trump could end the waraccording to a report from New York Times.
“I hope that Trump will step in as a savior to bring some order to the unrest caused by the ongoing conflicts in which they are involved. Iran with its proxies and Israel“Muhanned al-Farra, owner of an auto parts store and now a refugee in Khan Yunis with his family, told the New York newspaper. “I hope his election will bring positive changes to this city devastated by war,” he said.
Other leaders in the region, such as Egyptian President Abdel Fattá el-Sisi and the heir to the Saudi crown, Mohammed bin Salmanpersonally congratulated Trump.
Let Iran prepare
In the eyes of Trump and Netanyahu, Iran is the root of all evil in the region and the sponsor of groups that, like Hamas and Hezbollah, are considered terrorist by the United States and Israel. Tehran must prepare four difficult years. The same Wednesday when the victory of the Republican candidate in the United States was announced, the Iranian rial fell to its lowest level historical.
Trump’s arrival in power in a context of drifting escalation in the region should worry Tehran. In early October, as Israel prepared to attack various military targets in Iran, the then-Republican candidate urged Netanyahu: “Hit the nuclear bases, we’ll take care of the rest.”
Added to the nuclear implications are the repercussions which, this Friday, the pentagon made public that the FBI had foiled an Iranian plot to assassinate Trump before the election.
So far, President Masud Pezeshkian has shown only “political indifference” about who will occupy the White House in the years to come. Qatar had the same reaction, informing Hamas and Israel this Saturday that it would paralyze their mediation efforts for a ceasefire agreement and release of hostages in Gaza until they demonstrate “will and seriousness” to resume negotiations.
