Political rivals of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have pointed to the Democrats’ gains in the US midterm elections, arguing that the results highlight the political costs of his strained relationship with Washington.
Some Democratic candidates made opposition to US military aid to Israel a prominent campaign issue. On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump, who had endorsed Netanyahu, pledged to halt $4bn in annual funding to Israel. Gadi Eisenkot said Israel under his leadership would work to restore ties with Washington.
“We will renew and deepen this partnership, strengthen the bipartisan foundations it has relied on for years, and work to advance the entire Middle East,” he said in a post on X.
Yair Golan, head of Israel’s Democrats party, said the US election results “reveal just how toxic Netanyahu is among both Democrats and Republicans”.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the results showed that “Israel cannot afford” to have Netanyahu remain in office.
“It endangers our security, it jeopardises our democracy, and it will ruin our standing on the global stage,” Lapid said in a social media post.