Analysts interviewed by Anadolu Agency expect U.S. President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to have little effect on voters, though one sees potential value in talks after Tuesday’s election.
A Channel 12 survey conducted Oct. 19 found that 64% of respondents said Trump’s backing would not change their vote. Another 17% said it made them less likely to vote for Netanyahu’s Likud party, while 12% said it strengthened their support for Likud.
Channel 12 surveyed 507 adults and reported a maximum sampling error of 4.4 percentage points. The responses describe stated intentions before the election, not votes cast.
Trump urged Israelis to re-elect Netanyahu in a Sunday post on Truth Social, referring to unfinished work in Iran without specifying what further action he meant. Tuesday’s vote will fill all 120 seats in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. The process of forming a government follows the election.
Ahron Bregman, a senior teaching fellow at King’s College London, told Anadolu Agency he expected little change in voting and said intervention by a foreign leader could alienate some Likud supporters. He cited the April election defeat of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whom Trump had endorsed, as an example of the limits of such backing.
Ryan Bohl, a senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at RANE Network, said a small shift could still matter in Israel’s divided political landscape. He told Anadolu that Trump’s support might help Likud retain right-leaning voters who were considering other parties.
Bohl said Netanyahu may also make his relationship with Trump part of post-election bargaining. If no bloc wins a clear majority, Netanyahu could cite those ties as an advantage on Iran and the occupied West Bank while seeking support from smaller parties or individual lawmakers, Bohl said.
Israel’s Central Elections Committee has scheduled voting for Tuesday, Oct. 27, and publication of results for Nov. 4.
