Trump’s Waltz & Miller Picks Stoke Israel’s Belligerence

Israel With Trump Support May Scale Up Offensives against Iran

By Manish Anand

New Delhi, November 12: US President-elect Donald Trump in his two key choices — Mike Waltz and Stephen Miller — has signaled his staunch support for Israel. Trump may stay course to back Israel in offensives in Lebanon and also against Iran.

Mike Waltz as national security advisor may egg on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to go pursuing his plans to bomb the Hamas and the Hezbollah out of Gaza and Lebanon. Reuters in a report said that Trump has picked up Waltz for the position of the national security advisor. Jake Sullivan is the incumbent national security advisor, serving the Joe Biden administration.

Also Read: Trump Picks up Staunch Loyalists Stephen Miller & Elise Stefanik 

The Middle East observers opine that Waltz is an undiluted supporter of Israel. Post-US Elections reviews in Israel have stated that Netanyahu had been displeased with the Biden administration. Miller, known to be a staunch supporter of Israel’s offensives in the Middle East, is tipped to be the Deputy Staff in the White House in the Trump Presidency.

There were celebrations in Israel after Trump registered an emphatic victory. One viral video showed a group of television anchors celebrating the Trump victory by on-air sobering with liquor.

Professor Amit Gupta, Senior Advisor to The Forum of Federations, in an interview to Ramananda Sengupta of StratNews this week had pointed out that Trump would back the strategic partner, Israel. Gupta noted that Israel and the UK are principally the two strategic partners of the US.

Qatar sniffed the wind quickly after the victory of Trump in the US elections by announcing that Doha will expel the Hamas leadership. The Middle East observers are keeping close eyes on the administrative picks of Trump and their likely impact in the region.

Also Read: World sees red signs of impending big Israel attacks on Iran

Biden administration in their public utterances had been appealing Israel to exercise restraint. The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had been conciliatory with the Middle East power centres such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt to push for negotiating the release of hostages.

But Israel refused to talk peace despite exhortations by the Biden administration. Signaling more hostile stance, the newly appointed Israeli defence minister Israel Katz hinted at a possible military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. He told reporters in Tel Aviv that “a cease-fire agreement in Lebanon is not feasible”.

“Iran is more vulnerable than ever to targeting its nuclear facilities. The primary goal, to thwart and eliminate the threat of Israel’s annihilation, is achievable,” Israel’s Channel 12 quoted Katz saying after his first meeting with the General Staff Forum.

The remarks are in contrast to Israel’s statements before the US elections that Iran’s nuclear assets will not be targeted. Trump is also likely to take stock of the Abraham Accord that had normalized relations of the UAE and Israel on his watch.

Al Jazeera in an update stated that Trump’s choice of Elise Stefanik is also a strong hint for pro-Israel administration. The Doha-based broadcaster stated that Stefanik is a supporter of continued military support to Israel.

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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