Democrats’ midterm results may help unite Israeli coalition to unseat Netanyahu as US ties shift

Netanyahu’s ties to Republicans

For decades, Israel’s foreign policy relied on maintaining bipartisan support in the United States, a key provider of military and diplomatic backing. Netanyahu instead aligned himself closely with Republicans and Trump.

After the US election, Vice-President JD Vance cited the relationship with Israel among reasons for voter anger. On election day, Trump pledged to cut $4bn in annual military aid to Israel; Netanyahu later described the proposed reduction as a joint move from aid toward partnership.

Opposition seeks a new approach

Yair Lapid urged Israel to restore relations with incoming Democratic lawmakers. “They’re mainly against Netanyahu,” Lapid said, adding that anything associated with him was viewed as toxic by those lawmakers. Lapid presented a plan to rebuild trust in the United States, though the article said it highlighted the scale of the challenge. Ben Caspit, writing in Ma’ariv, said, “we are losing America.”

Human rights add to tensions

The article also described concerns over Israeli policies and rights. Lander, a Jewish Democrat who calls himself a liberal Zionist, was detained in the occupied West Bank while joining Palestinians harvesting olives.

Abu Shehada was reportedly taken from his home during a night raid by 15 masked security officials, without an arrest warrant. His lawyers said interrogators questioned him only about a podcast interview; Lander called the detention a violation of international law and said officials were seeking to delegitimize Palestinian citizens’ participation in elections.

Seat count leaves coalition hurdles

Israel’s opposition parties won 67 seats in the 120-member Knesset, but more than a quarter of those seats went to Palestinian citizens of Israel. Some Jewish Israeli opposition parties have ruled out joining a government with them.