Natan Sachs and I argue today in Foreign Affairs that despite the jubilation on the Israeli right at Trump’s election, it actually creates some real political problems for Bibi Netanyahu.
On November 9, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated President-elect Donald Trump through a video message, in which the Israeli leader could barely contain his giddiness at the prospect of a friendlier White House. The ruling Israeli right-wing coalition, which sees Trump as a potential champion of Greater Israel, believes that the United States’ next president will finally remove any outside constraints on settlement construction in the West Bank or the legalization of already existing settlements built without governmental approval. Settlement-friendly politicians in Israel are already working hard on such moves; on Wednesday, a bill legalizing settlements built on private Palestinian land passed its first reading in the Knesset, despite the objections of the attorney general and a near certain rejection by Israel’s High Court of Justice. Some in Israel even view the next four years as an opportunity to annex the West Bank outright. This is a “tremendous opportunity to announce a renunciation of the idea of founding a Palestinian state in the heart of the land,” Naftali Bennett, leader of the Jewish Home party, stated. “The era of the Palestinian state is over.”
It’s not clear what Trump will do, of course, nor whether he even knows his position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. During the campaign, he initially said that he would like to remain a “neutral guy”—a contrast to decades of U.S. policy that his tilted toward Israel—but he later shifted to a more traditional pro-Israel stance. To the delight of the Israeli right, the Republican platform omitted any mention of a two-state solution. And since the election, the co-chairs of Trump’s Israel advisory committee have reiterated controversial statements about Trump moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to West Jerusalem. They’ve also said that Trump does not view settlements as an obstacle to peace. At the same time, Trump himself told The Wall Street Journal of his desire to close the “ultimate deal” between Israelis and Palestinians. “As a dealmaker, I’d like to do … the deal that can’t be made,” he said. “And do it for humanity’s sake.”
Despite the myriad conflicting signals, it is reasonable to assume that Netanyahu will now have a freer hand to implement the policies he desires with regard to settlements and negotiations with the Palestinians. Politically speaking, he may no longer have to run the gauntlet between a coalition that demands more building in the West Bank and a White House that insists on less.
But Netanyahu may soon find out that he needs to be careful with what he wishes for. Freedom from U.S. pressure would be a mixed blessing. Rather than solving his problems, it could cost him his political leverage, his ability to play two-level games.
Head over to Foreign Affairs to read the rest of the piece.
Ottomans and Zionists 
What’s wrong with moving the embassy to west Jerusalem? Does anyone really believe that it will become part of a Palestinian state? Jerusalem is not even mentioned in the Koran. I’m tired of this nonsense that there was a Palestinian State and it was stolen by the Jews. There was never a Palestinian State. It was idea made up by Russia to take Israeli land. Jerusalem is the heart of Judaism. The Arabs were invaders from Arabia. Jerusalem only became important to the Arabs when Jews took it back.
Very simply, there was a population exchange caused by the Arab attack on the fledgling Jewish State. No different than India, Pakistan and dozens of other conflicts. More Jews whose families lived in Arab countries for perhaps a thousand years lost vast amounts of property and land in Arab countries. Many times the land lost by the Arabs from a war they started. Should those Jews run around waving giant keys demanding their land and property back? The Arabs would laugh at them.
Michael should know the settlements have nothing to do with peace. Was there peace before settlements? Did Israel go to war over the land the Arabs took from Jews and settled it? Now the Palestinians want the Dead Sea Scrolls, mostly written in Hebrew and a very important part of Jewish culture.
What happened in Gaza? Israel left and in return got terror tunnels and lunatic Islamists.
It’s a shame that 99.5% of the region, over 2 million Arabs living in Israel as full citizens, banning Jews from praying in their holiest place is not enough for the Arabs and the Soros Street progressives. After the Arabs rejected several crazily generous peace offers it’s time to demand the return of Jewish property and land stole by Arab governments and when that is rejected agree with Natalie Bennett and not the anti Israel progressives who would lead Israel to ruin.