Israel hopes Trump win builds Middle East ties, official says

TEL AVIV – Israel is hoping Donald Trump’s return to the White House will lead to more cooperation in the Middle East, both on diplomacy and climate issues, an Israeli official said.

A landmark deal that normalised Israeli relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and others was signed toward the end of Trump’s last presidency.

His return to office raises hopes of similar agreements with other states in the region, said Mr Gideon Behar, Israel’s special envoy for climate change and sustainability.

“We hope that it’ll continue also during his second term in office,” Mr Behar said in a Bloomberg TV interview on Nov 13 at the COP29 summit in Azerbaijan. “Definitely, we would like to enlarge our cooperation in the region and create more resilience.”

Still, anger toward Israel has soared since the war in Gaza began in October 2023.

Many Arab states insist Israel needs to end the conflict and start negotiations about an independent Palestinian state – something which the Israeli public has little appetite for – before they deepen ties with the Israeli government. 

Israel and Saudi Arabia were working toward establishing closer ties before Hamas’ deadly attacks on Israel halted progress.

More than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s subsequent military campaign, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilian casualties. Hamas is designated a terrorist organisation by the US. 

More than 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon. 

Mr Behar also said Israel is looking for a deeper alliance with the Trump administration on energy and climate issues. 

“We’re going to cooperate with the United States in every aspect, on climate, on water, on agriculture, on renewable energy,” he said. BLOOMBERG