Israel

Jérusalem, October 19, 2026. On Sunday, October 18, nine days before the October 27 legislative elections, Donald Trump expressed his support for Benyamin Netanyahou on Truth Social. The Jerusalem Post quotes the message: "Bibi Netanyahu has been a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace" in the face of Iran. The American president adds that if Israel has "the wrong Leader, which would be anyone other than Bibi", America will have to do the job itself, which he is "not inclined" to do. Haaretz notes that this support contrasts with the interview given to Newsmax on Thursday, October 15, where Trump refused to support a candidate.

The context is one of a struggling coalition. According to a poll by the public channel Kan, published on Sunday and reported by Haaretz, Netanyahou's bloc would obtain 51 seats, compared to 65 for the opposition; Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar would receive 23 seats and the Likud 21. The Jerusalem Post notes that the Likud, which had 32 seats in the 25th Knesset, is credited with 19 to 21 seats. Haaretz specifies that the boycott of Arab parties by certain formations in the Eisenkot bloc brings it down to 52 seats.

The dominant question is that of effectiveness. According to Maariv, quoted by the Jerusalem Post, Trump would have waited for internal data to show Netanyahou a realistic chance of winning. Politologist Ilana Shpaizman, from Bar-Ilan, estimates: "I don't think it will change anything": the Prime Minister's supporters do not need it and his opponents know that Trump "runs the show around Iran". The Netanyahou camp released a 30-second video of past praise from Trump in a few minutes.

Interference is mentioned: commentators on Israeli television denounce it, while others see it as American fear of having to face Iran alone. Haaretz, in an analysis, judges the support "dangerous" because it legitimizes a tough policy that threatens Israel's strategic future.

Netanyahou, during a press conference on Sunday, insisted on Israeli autonomy: "The objectives I set are not dependent on American approval", adding that Israel would act alone if necessary. He links the continuation of the campaign against Iran to the window opened by the Trump presidency. On the opposition side, the JNS describes a united bloc mainly by the idea that "Bibi must go". On Monday, October 19, Benny Gantz renounced his candidacy, his polls remaining below the 3.25% threshold.