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Trump endorses Netanyahu as polls show 50 seats

Israel's three main TV networks closed their final polling with Netanyahu's bloc at 50 seats, and 61 is the bar for a majority. Axios and writer Oliver note that neither camp can see an obvious route to putting a government together. That is the backdrop Trump stepped into with his "Complete and Total Endorsement" for Netanyahu before Tuesday's vote, having said earlier in the month that he was done with Israeli politics. Several of his closest advisers had pushed for him to sit this one out, and JD Vance would not follow his lead. Inside Trump's circle, irritation with Netanyahu has been accumulating for months. His conduct of Gaza and Syria draws criticism, as does settler violence in the West Bank. There is also a view that Washington would find it simpler to deal with an Israeli government that did not include Netanyahu's far-right coalition allies. So the endorsement is plain, while the team around Trump is a good deal less sure. And should another confrontation with Iran be waiting on the other side of the U.S. midterms, the person who ends up leading Israel could weigh heavily on what Washington does next.

1h

Jolyon@jolyon

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Trump endorses Netanyahu as polls show 50 seats

Israel's three main TV networks closed their final polling with Netanyahu's bloc at 50 seats, and 61 is the bar for a majority. Axios and writer Oliver note that neither camp can see an obvious route to putting a government together. That is the backdrop Trump stepped into with his "Complete and Total Endorsement" for Netanyahu before Tuesday's vote, having said earlier in the month that he was done with Israeli politics. Several of his closest advisers had pushed for him to sit this one out, and JD Vance would not follow his lead. Inside Trump's circle, irritation with Netanyahu has been accumulating for months. His conduct of Gaza and Syria draws criticism, as does settler violence in the West Bank. There is also a view that Washington would find it simpler to deal with an Israeli government that did not include Netanyahu's far-right coalition allies. So the endorsement is plain, while the team around Trump is a good deal less sure. And should another confrontation with Iran be waiting on the other side of the U.S. midterms, the person who ends up leading Israel could weigh heavily on what Washington does next.

1h