Prime Minister Netanyahu called U.S. President-elect Donald Trump even before the concession call from Vice President Kamala Harris.
NETANYAHU CALLS TRUMP
Vice President Kamala Harris has now called Trump to concede the race. She and Biden promised that there would be an orderly transfer of power on January 20th.
"We must accept the results of this election," Harris said. "Earlier today, I spoke with President-elect Trump and congratulated him on his victory. I also told him that we will help him and his team with their transition and that we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power."
Netanyahu and Trump have a strong relationship dating back to the first Trump presidency.
Netanyahu visited Trump at his home in Mar-a-Lago in the closing days of the political campaign. That meeting came after a tough conversation at the White House with Netanyahu and Harris about the conduct of the war in Gaza. At the time, the meeting between Netanyahu and Trump was seen as a sign that Netanyahu longed for Trump's return to the White House.
Netanyahu and Trump reportedly discussed the various security threats Israel is facing. Details of the conversation were not released, except to say that security matters were discussed. Topics likely included the threats from Iran, Iranian nuclearization, and the ongoing wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
During the election campaign, Iran reportedly plotted to assassinate Trump. In public statements, they now say the election changed nothing.
"Right now, the country isn’t overly concerned about Trump winning," said Fatemeh Mohajerani, Iran's government spokesperson. "What difference does it make? Was there really a big difference [between the two U.S. candidates]? For many of us, it doesn’t matter much."
Hamas called for Trump to end what it called the "blind U.S. pro-Israel bias."
Meanwhile, the Biden-Harris administration remains in office until January 20. Until then, Washington and Jerusalem need to closely coordinate on the many aspects of Israel’s multi-front war.
The question is how much, if at all, President-elect Trump plans to be involved in the meantime.
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