On Oct. 7, 2023, Israel faced the largest invasion of its territory in history. Over 1,200 Israelis were killed, thousands displaced, and the bloodiest war between Israel and Hamas began. For over a year, ceasefire negotiations have faltered, largely due to tensions between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This dynamic, however, is set to shift dramatically with Trump’s return to the presidency — but not for the betterment of anyone beyond Netanyahu and his far-right allies.
Trump’s new administration, touted as the most pro-Israel in history, marks the likely death of the two-state solution. Already, Israeli military operations in Gaza and southern Lebanon have decimated Iran’s proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah. Yet this deterioration has emboldened Israeli far-right leaders like Bezalel Smotrich, who, after Trump’s win, declared: “Israel will work with the new administration of President Trump … to apply Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.”
With Trump in office, U.S. policy will likely reinforce Netanyahu’s hardline stance, alienating Arab nations and potentially dismantling the Abraham Accords. Such a shift risks driving these nations closer to Iran, fostering new alliances and exacerbating regional tensions. While Iran’s proxies are significantly weakened, they may find new justification to reignite conflicts with Israel, spreading regional instability to Egypt, Jordan, and beyond.
This begs the question: Will Trump’s historically pro-Israel Cabinet fuel an expanding axis of opposition against Israel, unraveling years of delicate regional progress?”
Gavin Reynolds, Murray