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Iran, for its part, has already pushed the door ajar for talks. On Saturday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi told state television that Tehran is ready for the resumption of negotiations over its nuclear program. Intriguingly, according to the New York Times and CBS, Trump’s current best pal Elon Musk reportedly had a sit-down with Iran’s ambassador to the U.N., discussing ways to ease tensions between Tehran and Washington.
Such an emphasis on diplomacy by the incoming administration might not delight Netanyahu and the ultranationalists in his coalition government though. And they may well find Trump is less favorable for their preferred policies, Barak said.
Currently, Israel’s right wing — especially its extreme right wing — is celebrating Trump’s election and the nominations he’s made, particularly Mike Huckabee as U.S. ambassador to Israel. Huckabee supports the idea of annexing the West Bank, endorses the expansion of Jewish settlements and has criticized Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza.
Barak, however, doesn’t believe Trump will agree to Israel settling Gaza or to annexing the West Bank: “I still remember vividly Netanyahu five years ago, taking off on an airplane full of journalists from Tel Aviv, heading to Washington and briefing them that he was basically going to get Trump’s permission to annex the West Bank within weeks. He flew back days later hugging Trump’s Deal of the Century Peace Plan,” which included a two-state solution — albeit one that’s not embraced by all Palestinians.
And Netanyahu might find Trump’s transactional mindset hard to navigate. “Trump, who is very friendly to Israel — like Biden and many presidential predecessors — needs the Saudis, he needs the Emiratis, he needs the security and the stability of oil supply. He needs many things that go against the interests of Israel. The question is, of course, how much will he insist on Israel playing its part?” Barak asked.
The overall problem is that Netanyahu doesn’t have a real strategy and hasn’t been able to translate Israel’s recent military successes into sustainable political gains. “That has been the major failure of Netanyahu’s government,” Barak said.
