The British Middle East Eye website published an analytical article by independent Israeli journalist, Meron Rapoport, in which he believed that difficult days await the extreme Israeli right when US President Donald Trump leaves the White House, but that will not likely translate into strong American support for the Palestinians. .

Rapoport said that some circles of the Israeli right were shocked when the American media announced last Saturday that Joe Biden had won the presidential elections in the United States.

He added that many far-right activists in Israel are absorbed in social media echoing the statements of President Trump and his allies about the "stealing" of the elections, and that those activists have always believed that there is a "miracle" that will keep Trump in the White House in the end.

As an indication of this, Rapoport cited an incident that took place on the independent Israeli Channel (13) when the broadcaster Avri Gilad - who is considered a supporter of the extreme right - denounced Biden as "the president-elect."

Rapoport commented in his analysis of the incident by saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - who used to describe Trump as "the best American president for Israel" - seemed of course pleased with Gilad's position.

But only 12 hours after US satellite channels announced the election results, Netanyahu tweeted, expressing his good wishes to President-elect Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Rapoport pointed out in his analysis that Netanyahu did not use the phrase "the elected president" in his congratulations to Biden, but what is puzzling in the writer's view is that Netanyahu did not follow the example of Russian Presidents Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and other foreign leaders who did not congratulate Biden on his victory.

He said that Russia and China could do their best with an American president who has a hostile tendency towards them, but Israel would not be able to do so.

Trump gave the Golan to Netanyahu ... and the Arabs responded with statements (Al-Jazeera)

Netanyahu is in danger

The article pointed out that the end of the Trump era will harm Netanyahu's political position. Over the course of the three legislative elections that took place in the past 18 months in Israel, Netanyahu used to portray his personal friendship with Trump as evidence confirming that he is a different leader, and this was evident in the leaflets and brochures. Campaign propaganda that hung Netanyahu alongside Trump.

Netanyahu's campaign wanted to hint that its candidate is the best compared to junior politicians and his potential rivals such as the leader of the "Blue and White" party, Benny Gantz, or the head of the "There is a future" party, Yair Lapid, and all of these lack the international experience that Netanyahu has. .

The fact that Netanyahu will not be able to exploit this advantage again to achieve political goals will most likely have an impact on his willingness to run in the midst of a fourth round of legislative elections, according to the analytical article, which also saw that in the absence of Trump's support for the Israeli prime minister and in the presence of cases A criminal case against him is due to be heard by the judiciary in early December, so Netanyahu may hesitate to bet on the elections.

The writer believed that the defeat of Trump in the recent US elections will weaken Netanyahu even more, but the most exciting question of Netanyahu's fate is to what extent Biden's victory will affect the status of Israel, especially with regard to its relationship with the Palestinians.

Although Rapoport believes that it is too early to know, he confirms that the margin of maneuver for Israel will shrink, whether it is Netanyahu who heads the government or the leader of the Jewish Home party Naftali Bennett or even Gantz.

Fate of the annexation plan

According to the article, Biden assuming the presidency in the United States will put an end to Israel's annexation of more Palestinian lands. Biden clearly stated this and there is no reason to believe that he will act otherwise when he officially becomes president, which will represent a heavy blow to the extreme right in Israel.

And there is another issue related to settlement expansion, the writer says, while former US President Barack Obama imposed a decision on Israel to freeze settlements at the beginning of his first term, Trump chose to pursue a different policy.

So, in November 2019, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the US government no longer viewed the settlements as a violation of international law, but rather included them within Israel's borders in the "Deal of the Century."

However, Rapoport claims that Biden will have a different position. He was Obama's deputy when the United States abstained from voting in the UN Security Council to approve Resolution 2234, which states that the settlements constitute a "flagrant violation of international law" and thus "have no legal legitimacy." ".

However, this does not mean - according to the Israeli journalist - that the Biden administration will take actual steps to prevent settlement expansion.

The big question remains: How far will the Biden administration push toward a real political solution that includes ending the Israeli occupation or apartheid in the West Bank, according to Rapoport.

Trump oversaw the signing of a peace agreement for Israel with the UAE and Bahrain (Getty Images)

The two-state solution

The writer pointed out that the head of the Israeli Meretz party, Nitzan Horowitz, called on Biden - in his congratulatory telegram - to "work towards resuming the peace process" between Israel and the Palestinians.

Rapoport claims that this call is “what the Palestinians fear - and rightly so - as well as the radical left in Israel.” They fear Biden will work to resume the same sterile peace process that they see has exacerbated the occupation rather than ending it.

The writer expected that Biden will resume the debate on the two-state solution, but it is very likely that this will remain only rhetoric, but he ruled out the possibility that Biden would pressure Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and dismantle settlements, explaining that Biden had previously stated that he was a Zionist.

According to Rapoport, Biden wants an independent Palestinian state, not because the Palestinians deserve freedom or because he wants to end the occupation of Palestine, but because he believes that an independent Palestinian state will make Israel stronger.

The article concluded that Netanyahu and the Israeli right not only lost a friend in the White House, but also an unlimited margin of maneuver that Trump provided them, and that time will tell to reveal the real consequences of these changes.