Israeli leaders have high hopes for a second term as U.S. President Donald Trump, and analysts say Israeli officials are hoping his unconventional approach to foreign policy will deliver on their top security priorities. But as VOA Jerusalem correspondent Linda Gradstein reports, President Trump's efforts to broker a peace deal with Saudi Arabia could cause tensions with the Jewish state.
President Trump's latest proposal to manage the conflict in the Middle East by sending Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan is a typical example of what many in Israel see as an unusual approach to foreign policy that could bring results in Israel's favor, such as an aggressive approach towards Iran, Israel's main enemy.
Many Israelis, especially supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government, expect Israel to benefit from such policies, as happened during Mr. Trump's first presidential term.
"I believe that by working together again, we will further the alliance between the United States and Israel. I am confident that we will defeat Iran's axis of terror and usher in a new era of peace and progress in our region ," Netanyahu declared.
Some Israeli analysts say that with President Trump's support, Israel could commit to destroying Iran's nuclear program after the weakening of Iranian defense systems and allied militant groups in Gaza and Lebanon by Israeli attacks.
"Israel needs the support, cooperation, and moral clarity of President Trump's new administration in order to finally perhaps eliminate the Iranian regime and its nuclear program," says Dan Dicker, director of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.
Other analysts say they are unsure whether President Trump would support the Israeli military's actions against Iran.
"Initially, he will try to reach an agreement, of course a different agreement than the one he withdrew from, but reaching the agreement will be his first priority," says Helit Barel, former director of the Israeli National Security Council.
President Trump says he wants to expand the Abraham Accords, which were negotiated under his first administration between Israel and the Gulf states, by forging a peace agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
"He wants to be the guy who got the deal of the century. The more Israel normalizes relations with the Gulf states, the more they can cooperate with each other to confront security threats like Iran, or groups like the Islamic State — and the less work there will be for America. From Mr. Trump's perspective, in terms of his vision, he wants America to be less involved," says Jonathan Rynhold, an expert on Israel-US relations at Bar Illan University.
Saudi Arabia has said that any peace deal with Israel will be conditional on progress towards the establishment of a Palestinian state, a solution that the right-wing Israeli government opposes.
Such a stance could become a source of friction between Mr. Trump and Israeli leaders.
“He will try to reach an agreement on some kind of Palestinian entity in the West Bank to finally resolve this issue with Israel. This signals that Israel needs to get ahead of this issue and offer a variety of different alternatives ,” says analyst Dicker.
President Trump has pledged to end all wars, and in Israel, the dominant view is that it was to his credit that the current ceasefire with Hamas and the hostage release agreement were achieved.
But finding lasting solutions to Middle East conflicts may be a more difficult challenge for the returning American president. VOA (A2 Televizion)
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