The US administration stressed its adherence to the two-state solution between the Palestinians and the Israelis, in congratulating Benjamin Netanyahu for forming the new Israeli government, which highlights the challenges that this right-wing government will face in its relations with its Western allies.

In a statement congratulating the formation of the government, US President Joe Biden said Thursday, "The United States will continue to support the two-state solution and oppose policies that endanger the viability of this solution, or that contradict our common interests and values."

The same position was reiterated by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in a congratulatory statement, saying that his country will maintain its commitment to promoting equal measures of freedom, justice, security and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

This position contradicts the hardline positions in Netanyahu's new government, as it is the most right-wing in the history of Israel, and its membership includes settlers who support the annexation of Palestinian lands in the West Bank.

Netanyahu made strengthening settlements in the Palestinian territories a priority for his government, as bilateral agreements with his partner parties in the government allowed him to begin the actual annexation of lands in the West Bank.

Repeatedly, the United Nations has confirmed the illegality of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, and warned that it undermines the principle of the two-state solution.

Palestine and normalization

For his part, Professor of Political Science at the Hebrew University, Jonathan Freeman, expected that the file of negotiations with the Palestinians would be the most prominent foreign political dispute expected to be witnessed by the new government. two states.

Freeman expressed his belief that this government will be less interested in direct talks with the Palestinians, and will seek again to reach agreements for normalization with neighboring countries.

In his previous government, Netanyahu considered that the normalization agreements with the Arab countries would lead to an agreement with the Palestinians, and he announced in press statements in recent weeks that he would renew this policy with his return to the premiership.

This approach was supported by the previous US administration headed by Donald Trump, while the Biden administration stressed that the normalization agreements are not a substitute for a peace agreement with the Palestinians.


Iran's nuclear file

On the other hand, Netanyahu made preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons a priority for his government.

And since returning to the nuclear agreement - signed between the major powers and Iran in 2015 - is becoming increasingly difficult, the differences between Israel and the United States over Iran will remain postponed.

In the congratulatory statement, Blinken said, "We will work with the new (Israeli) government to take advantage of the many opportunities and jointly address the challenges in Israel and the Middle East, including the threats posed by Iran."

Researcher Freeman believed that we will witness policies similar to previous policies or more severe in Israeli moves to prevent any possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.

Ukraine and Russia

In recent weeks, Netanyahu has spoken twice with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, promising to re-examine Kyiv's request for Israeli weapons if he returns to the government.

Freeman said that Netanyahu may reconsider Israel's refusal to support Kyiv with weapons after reports of Iran selling drones to Russia, and Washington wants Israel to be more supportive of Ukraine and more critical of Russia.

However, the political science professor at the Hebrew University indicated that it is in Israel's interest to maintain good relations with Russia, especially since Moscow does not interfere in Israeli raids in Syria on Iranian targets and others belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah.

Europe.. Disagreements and Opportunities

On the other hand, if Netanyahu provides support to Ukraine, he will strengthen his relations with the European Union, especially as he needs this in light of expectations of European criticism of the Netanyahu government's settlement policy.

Freeman said that the war in Ukraine and Europe's search for an alternative to Russian energy give Israel new opportunities to provide energy to Europe and improve relations with it.

He added that Israel is now selling more weapons to European countries, including Germany, and that the new government will find other opportunities to sign defense agreements with many European countries.