‘Yesssss!’: Israel reacts to Donald Trump’s return to power in US election
It was telling that even before the US presidential election polls closed on Tuesday night, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir took to X, posting “Yesssss” in English while adding emojis of a flexing bicep and images of the Israeli and American flags.
Yesssss 💪🏻🇮🇱🇺🇸 https://t.co/kPqkYI3PDP
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) November 6, 2024
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was only slightly slower in congratulating Trump on his triumph in the US presidential election, becoming the first world leader to do so and framing Trump’s victory as a “powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America”.
Meanwhile, analysts have told Al Jazeera that it will be “slaughter as usual” for Israel in Gaza and Lebanon under the incoming Trump administration.
A congratulatory billboard in Tel Aviv shows US President-elect Donald Trump
Many fear escalation in Israeli-Hezbollah conflict until Trump takes office
This is a strategy that they employed in the last major war with Israel in 2006. They continue to fire rockets and drones across the border, at times hitting Israeli military positions.
They’ve struck deep inside Israel, close to Tel Aviv international airport. But Israel responded to that attack by striking next to Beirut international airport.
Hezbollah acknowledges that Israel controls the skies and that Israel has a more technologically advanced army. But it says it is relying on its fighters, who they say are preventing the Israeli army from advancing deep inside Lebanon.
So, Hezbollah’s strategies are designed to make it costly for the Israeli army, to make sure that the people cannot return to their homes in the north and central Israel.
But this has been costly for both sides, and as there’s no prospect for a ceasefire, many fear, we’re going to see an escalation until the US president-elect, Donald Trump, takes office in January.
Gaza people fear Israel trying to empty north before Trump takes office
New Israeli evacuation orders were issued for residents in the neighbourhoods of Gaza City – this time not for the residents in the north of the territory such as Beit Lahiya, Jabalia, and Beit Hanoon.
The Israeli army claims these neighbourhoods have been used by Palestinian fighters to launch rockets towards the Israeli territories. It has used this pretext to push people out.
People are saying the Israeli military is racing to empty the northern part of Gaza of residents before US President-elect Donald Trump officially takes his position. The Israeli military in the north is using starvation as a weapon and a deadly campaign to force people to flee.
Palestinians right now are living in open spaces, and they don’t have proper shelter after repeated Israeli attacks on evacuation centres.
