Trump Pushes for Removal of Two Israeli Ministers From Next Cabinet
The US president believes settler violence is complicating his regional strategy as Israel's election results point to a political stalemate.
By Anthony Brooks ·
US President Donald Trump has asked for the exclusion of far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich from Israel’s next government, American sources told Walla on Wednesday. Trump’s team believes that violence by settlers is undermining his regional vision and complicating efforts to implement it. The president has not yet commented publicly on the request, though his associates have reviewed the election results.
The push for change comes amid a tight legislative race. The Central Elections Committee announced on Wednesday morning that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc is expected to enter the Knesset with 54 seats after counting more than four million votes. Likud is projected to win 27 seats. United Torah Judaism, Shas, and Otzma Yehudit are each expected to take seven seats, while the Religious Zionist Party is projected to win six.
The opposition bloc, which includes Yashar, B’Yachad, Yisrael Beytenu, and the Democrats, is expected to secure 49 seats. The Reservists' Party and People of Israel failed to cross the electoral threshold in exit polls. Celebrations broke out at Likud headquarters after the preliminary results were released.
Ofer Winter, chairman of the Amcha Yisrael party, criticized Netanyahu after his party also failed to cross the threshold. Sources close to Winter claimed that the prime minister had drained their votes and called the move a strategic mistake. Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit and Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party-Zehut alliance are projected to win approximately 13 seats combined, making them potentially important partners in any future Netanyahu-led coalition.
Neither bloc reaches the 61 seats required for a Knesset majority, leaving the path to forming a government unresolved. Exit polls indicated that Arab parties could play a major role in determining whether a government can be formed. The final distribution of Knesset seats will depend on the official vote count.
Separately, Trump addressed the war with Iran on Wednesday, stating that it could end whenever he decides. He said the conflict would end quickly but emphasized that it must end the right way. Trump described Iran as the number one state sponsor of terrorism in the world. He added that ending the war requires an absolute and unequivocal declaration that Iran will never have nuclear weapons.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
