With Israel’s election just two weeks away, Benjamin Netanyahu will get to showcase his close ties with Donald Trump in a US visit just days after the president backed Israel’s hold over the occupied Golan Heights.
The prime minister’s White House meeting with Trump on Monday could be overshadowed in the United States by the expected release of a confidential report into a probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 US election.
TRUMP NETANYAHU
✔️ Far-right/nationalist worldview ✔️
✔️ Attack democratic institutions ✔️
✔️ Use rhetoric of hate and fear ✔️They are dragging the US and Israel down a dark and dangerous path. pic.twitter.com/mrnCboxGH9
— J Street (@jstreetdotorg) March 22, 2019
But Netanyahu, facing possible indictment in three corruption cases and denying any wrongdoing, will play to a domestic audience in highlighting what he hails as the strongest bond ever between an Israeli leader and an American president.
Before returning on Thursday from the long-planned trip to the home stretch of a close race, Netanyahu can expect a warm reception from Trump, who along with the First Lady, will also host a dinner for Netanyahu and his wife, Sara.
RT Mondoweiss "Benjamin Netanyahu is running for reelection on his strong relationship with the U.S. and Donald Trump, who has unofficially endorsed Netanyahu by allowing political allies and US ambassador to appear with the PM in occupied territories. https://t.co/rCfqSj7aDK"
— Richard Hardigan (@RichardHardigan) March 23, 2019
Trump helped set the scene for his ally on Thursday, announcing the time had come to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, strategic territory that Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war.
The president’s move was widely seen in Israel – where Trump is a popular figure – as an attempt to provide an election boost to the right-wing Netanyahu, who had pressed for yet another departure from long-standing US policy in one of the world’s most volatile regions.
#Netanyahu thanks US President for 'historic' #GolanHeights recognition pic.twitter.com/TMecR2bOBw
— Ruptly (@Ruptly) March 21, 2019
Trump had already fulfilled two major items on Netanyahu’s wish list, recognizing contested Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017 and moving the American embassy to the holy city from Tel Aviv last May.
Those steps angered Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem, also captured by Israel in 1967, as the capital of a state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. It also set them firmly against a peace plan Washington says it will present after the Israeli ballot.
@RamzyBaroud: Succession of events over the past year is meant to send 2 messages, 'the first to Palestinians, that you have been dropped off the U.S. radar entirely, & to Israelis, elect Netanyahu and you will have complete and unconditional U.S. support' https://t.co/X3fUaeqOYd pic.twitter.com/ZjQhaxRbyF
— Ramzy Baroud (@RamzyBaroud) March 23, 2019
For Trump, Netanyahu’s embrace resonates with US evangelists, a core constituency for the Republican leader who is up for re-election in 2020.
Netanyahu will also address the pro-Israel lobbying group, AIPAC, at its annual convention in Washington, as will his main challenger in the election, former military chief Benny Gantz who heads a centrist party.
Several #Democratic Presidential Candidates to Boycott #AIPAC https://t.co/SR7jB5fsj1 via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/Bp6EikugyZ
— Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) March 24, 2019
The prime minister said he will meet leaders of Congress during the visit. Netanyahu’s relations with Democrats have been strained by his unflinching support for Trump, friction with the Democratic party’s progressive wing and his thorny relationship with Barack Obama.
Opinions polls show Netanyahu running neck and neck with Gantz. The political newcomer has called for clean governance, building on the attorney general’s announcement in February that he intends to indict Netanyahu on bribery and fraud charges, pending a hearing after the April 9 vote.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
