By Sumayya
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump stated early Wednesday that his support helped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu get more votes than people thought he would in Israel’s parliament election. This comment came as early vote counts showed Netanyahu’s team in the lead but still missing the total numbers needed to form a ruling government, with less than half of the voting boxes counted.
With 48% of the voting boxes counted early Wednesday, Netanyahu’s team was expected to get 55 seats. This is six seats away from a majority in the 120-member parliament, which is called the Knesset. The rival political team, led by Gadi Eisenkot, was expected to get 50 seats.
“I think when the endorsement went out, it helped him a lot,” Trump told reporters after coming back from political campaign events in Texas.
“I actually heard he did pretty well. It might be winning or tied. A tie is sort of considered a win in that case.”
Trump stated that he had not talked to Netanyahu yet.
Trump stated on Sunday that he gave Netanyahu his “Complete and Total Endorsement” during a very delicate political campaign for the Israeli leader. Netanyahu has been facing a lot of questions about his safety choices, the war in Gaza, and how he manages Israel’s reputation around the world.
Israel has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians and hurt over 175,000 people in Gaza since October 2023, and most of these victims have been women and children. At the same time, around 90% of the buildings and systems in Gaza have been broken or ruined, according to Palestinian leaders.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court sent out arrest papers for Netanyahu and the former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant because of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The International Court of Justice is also listening to a legal case started by South Africa and supported by multiple other nations that blames Israel for doing a genocide against Palestinian people in Gaza.
