Ahead of the Israeli elections scheduled for October 27, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly requested additional public support from U.S. President Donald Trump.
According to a report by Axios, Netanyahu has spoken with Trump twice over the past three days. During these calls, Netanyahu asked Trump to express a stronger endorsement than the one he posted on Truth Social last week.
Previously, on October 18, Trump shared an open letter on Truth Social addressed to the "great people of Israel," declaring his public support for Netanyahu. In that letter, Trump praised Netanyahu as a "great warrior and partner for peace" and stated, "I express my complete and total support for Netanyahu's re-election in this election."
Sources in the U.S. indicated that Netanyahu even suggested specific wording for the additional support statement. The White House interpreted Netanyahu's request for further backing as a "signal of desperation" and an indication that he believes he is trailing in the election.
Israeli sources, informed of Netanyahu's efforts to secure support, reported that he proposed that Trump express additional support during a phone call with Israeli journalists.
In contrast, Netanyahu's party, the Likud, led by spokesperson Netta Malho, denied claims that Netanyahu sought campaign support from Trump in recent days or prior to Trump's support statement.
The White House did not provide a comment in response to Axios's request.
The upcoming election will see all 120 members of Israel's unicameral parliament (Knesset) elected. According to the last pre-election poll released by three major Israeli broadcasters on October 23, the combined number of seats for Netanyahu's ruling coalition parties is expected to drop significantly from 67 to 50. Predictions indicate that the Likud party, led by Netanyahu, will see its seats decrease from 32 to 20.
The poll forecasts that the opposition coalition, led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, will secure between 52 and 56 seats, while two Arab Israeli parties are projected to gain a total of 14 to 16 seats. Channel 11 also predicted that the "Reserve Party," which does not align with either major bloc, would win 4 seats.
Conversely, a poll released by Channel 14, which is favorable to Netanyahu, indicated that the Likud party, including 30 seats, would allow the current ruling coalition to secure a majority of 62 seats, showing a significant discrepancy from other major broadcasters' findings.
A U.S. official explained that regardless of the election outcome, Trump's support declaration would benefit him in some way. If Netanyahu wins or continues as a caretaker prime minister, Trump can leverage the situation to claim he politically rescued Netanyahu. Conversely, if Netanyahu loses and the opposition forms a government, the new Israeli leadership will still have ample reason to maintain a good relationship with Trump. Some of Trump's advisors believe that a new government formed by the opposition could present new opportunities to advance U.S. Middle East policy in Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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