Joe Biden
Joe BidenReuters

The Israeli government is hoping President Trump wins reelection next Tuesday, but must be prepared to work with a Biden administration if Trump loses, says former Israeli Ambassador to the US and former Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon.

Speaking in an interview with Arutz Sheva, the former diplomat acknowledged that a Trump victory would be far better for Israel, but added that Israel would still be able to work with a Biden administration.

“There is no question that Trump is elected, that’s very good for Israel, since he will definitely continue the kinds of supportive policies he’s pursued regarding settlements in Judea and Samaria, and also in terms of his policy on Israel’s security and pressure on Iran, as well as on the issue of changes in the Arab world.”

Trump “has also helped in the fight against the BDS movement and blocking [UN] resolutions critical of Israel, and his people have been consistent in this all through his first term.”

“But the central question is, what would happen with Biden. I personally know him to be a supporter of Israel, and he even described himself as a ‘Zionist’, though his definition is somewhat unique.”

“I have no doubt that he will continue to back Israel’s security, since it is tied also to American interests.”

Nevertheless, Ayalon continued, there would likely be significant changes in US policy vis-à-vis Israel’s relationship with the Palestinian Authority, and the effort to secure a final status agreement.

“Changes could be seen in the relationship to the Palestinians – and the Democrats are, in terms of their plan, still using Clinton’s framework of two states for two peoples and a return to the borders of June 1967. That was the plan Obama adopted very strongly, and it is very possible that America’s relationship with the Palestinians could go back to that point.”

Even if the Biden administration moves back to the formula adopted by the Clinton and Obama administrations vis-à-vis Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Ayalon said, Biden would be less likely to apply heavy pressure to Israel, given the declining importance of the Israeli-Arab conflict.

“Keep in mind that today, on the international agenda, the Palestinian issue is not only not at the top of the priority list, it has fallen several spots. Therefore, I don’t believe that there will be pressure from Biden – certainly not like there was under Obama.”