The Israeli election result has been greeted with neither surprise nor irritation in Washington. The White House had said that President Obama
ADVERTISEMENTThe Israeli election result has been greeted with neither surprise nor irritation in Washington.
The White House had said that President Obama remained committed to working very closely with whoever won the Israeli premiership.
Senators both Democratic and Republican also expressed their unshakable commitment.
“We are going to work with Israel. They are our strongest ally in the region. And of course with what is going on with Iran, and ISIS/ISIL, we are going to continue to work very, very closely with Israel, however the coalition government is formed,” said Republican Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota.
Just two weeks ago Senators had been deeply divided over Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, when he attacked attempts to strike a deal with Iran over its nuclear programme.
It strained relations with the White House.
So what will be the impact if a new Netanyahu government brings new coalition partners?
“On the peace process, on Iran and on settlement activity, it’s not going to be the transformation that people expect. There are all kinds of constraints,” said Aaron David Miller, political analyst at the Wilson Center and former adviser to US governments on Arab-Israeli negotiations.
Likud has pledged to complete coalition talks and form a new government within two to three weeks.
Euronews Washington correspondent Stefan Grobe said:
“According to first reactions in Washington, the outcome of the election will not change the fundamentals. And that is: strong US support for Israel, no matter how messy the process of forming the next government there will be. After all, messy governing is something that America can relate to.”