On January 27, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett visited Abu Dhabi, where he held a three-hour meeting with the President of the UAE and its Foreign Minister. According to the Trump administration’s plan, the UAE is granted a pivotal role in the Arab coalition set to undertake the reconstruction and temporary management of the Gaza Strip. On January 15, the new American president mediated an agreement between Israel and Hamas to halt military operations in Gaza and gradually release Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The agreement was signed on January 17, and Trump views this as a starting point for restructuring the entire Middle East.
Besides Gaza’s reconstruction, the plan calls for normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, followed by 14 other Arab and Islamic countries in Africa and Asia; thus, the Trump administration intends to create a Middle Eastern alliance to contain Iran and China. Simultaneously, Washington is preparing to resume negotiations with Tehran, with Trump’s aim to apply “maximum pressure” to halt the Iranian nuclear program.
The main obstacle to implementing this plan is the stance of current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; first, he opposes the new American administration’s negotiations with Iran, believing that Hezbollah’s weakness in Lebanon and the fall of Assad’s regime in Syria make it an opportune moment for an Israeli military operation against Iranian nuclear facilities and oil infrastructure. He also strongly opposes any actions that could initiate the formation of a Palestinian state, while Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sees these measures as essential for normalizing relations with Israel. The most urgent disagreement with Washington involves Netanyahu’s insistence on resuming military operations in Gaza, as failing to do so could lead to a split among the far-right within his government, joining the opposition and possibly triggering early elections.
In fact, Miriam Adelson, one of the largest funders of Trump’s election campaign (second according to Israeli media), was the one who convinced him to pursue a deal between Israel and Hamas. Adelson is the richest woman in Israel and has a long-standing relationship with the current U.S. president, having donated approximately $120 million to his recent campaign. She holds a negative view of Netanyahu and supports Bennett as a future candidate for Prime Minister. Adelson expects Netanyahu to yield once again to Trump’s pressures and implement all terms of the deal with Hamas, preventing him from resuming military operations in Gaza. As a result, Netanyahu would lose support from part of his voters and would be unable to maintain his coalition, potentially leading to unfavorable early elections for him. All recent polls in Israel predict that Bennett would decisively defeat Netanyahu if he ran in the elections.
Bennett served as Prime Minister from 2021 to 2022 and made history as the first head of government to have an Islamic party representing Israeli Arabs in his ruling coalition. He maintained warm relations with party leader Mansour Abbas, and unlike Netanyahu, he avoided provocative actions against the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. Bennett was the main driver behind enhancing Israeli intelligence operations inside Iran but pursued a moderate policy towards Arab countries. During his one year in office, Bennett visited the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt, while Netanyahu only visited Jordan during his current two-year term.
After Trump’s victory in November 2024, Bennett actively began preparing to run in early Israeli elections. According to a source familiar with the “Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations,” Bennett reached a secret agreement with former Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman in December. Unlike Bennett, Liberman leads his own party, which is currently in the opposition. Both Bennett and Liberman have a long history of personal enmity toward Netanyahu. The details of their secret agreement have not yet been revealed, but the American source disclosed that they agreed to run together in the upcoming elections. If they win, the duo plans to share the position of Prime Minister on a rotating basis: Bennett in the first half of the government’s term, then Liberman in the second half. Adelson, who was supportive of Bennett within Trump’s circle, does not favor Liberman, but agreed to the plan as a means to oust Netanyahu.
From the perspective of the new American administration, Bennett is seen as a more acceptable candidate for the Israeli Prime Ministership amid the planned radical changes in the Middle East under American sponsorship. Trump has not forgotten how Netanyahu was among the first to publicly congratulate Biden on his presidential victory in 2020, even before the final results were announced, which Trump saw as a betrayal. With Bennett, there are no similar negative memories. Additionally, Bennett spent a significant part of his life in the United States, maintaining extensive connections in American business circles and both houses of Congress, enjoying support from many prominent figures in the American Jewish community.
On the eve of Trump’s inauguration, Israeli media began publishing articles featuring interviews and quotes from key figures in the new president’s team, including his advisers and close associates. The central theme of these materials was the great importance of Saudi Arabia and the UAE in resolving the Gaza issue and their crucial role in regional integration and economic development for Israel. Bennett’s visit to the UAE was part of this broader campaign. At the same time, one of Israel’s largest newspapers, “Israel Hayom,” owned by Adelson, saw a noticeable increase in articles harshly criticizing Netanyahu.
In contrast to this campaign, a significant paper was published on the website of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA), supported by the NATO Mediterranean Initiative, on the day Israel reached an agreement with Hamas, just five days before Trump’s inauguration. The paper had a striking title: “Azerbaijan… A Cornerstone of Israel’s Regional Security System—A Brief Overview for the Trump Administration.”
The paper focused on two main points:
“The special importance of Azerbaijan for national security and regional defense capabilities of the Jewish state.”
“Azerbaijan as an example of Islamic-Jewish coexistence, enhancing Israeli-Islamic relations.”
The paper stressed that “Azerbaijan has the longest and most comprehensive partnership with Israel among Islamic countries,” citing a statement from Netanyahu: “This is an example of how Muslims and Jews work together to ensure a better future for both.” The paper also included a direct appeal to the new American administration. Statements from close Trump associates clearly indicate that his policy includes expanding the Abraham Accords. In this context, the Israeli leadership and the national diplomacy—governmental and public—should draw Washington’s attention to the actors in the geopolitical landscape of the Eastern Mediterranean and West Asia who have long-term strategic partnerships with Jerusalem and can enhance the role of the Jewish state in the “new Middle East” envisioned by Trump. Azerbaijan deserves special attention as Israel’s longest-standing Islamic partner.
Between January 16 and 27, articles citing the Begin-Sadat Center’s report were published and expanded upon in about twenty major media outlets in Israel and the United States. In Israel, all publications had a clear right-wing orientation, while articles in the U.S. appeared in prominent Jewish and conservative media outlets. One such outlet emphasized the importance of the Israeli-Azerbaijani partnership in the context of Trump’s administration plans to counter China’s influence in the Middle East.
According to the mentioned source in the “Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations,” the publication of the paper from the Begin-Sadat Center was initiated by a member of Netanyahu’s inner circle.
It is absurd to deny the close relations between Azerbaijan and Israel, and it is encouraging to see an Islamic state, which is also a strategic partner to Turkey, gaining such significance for America’s main ally in the Middle East. This aspect undoubtedly elevates the status of this southern Caucasian republic, bordering Iran and Russia, in the eyes of the Trump administration.
On a broader level, the active involvement of three Islamic countries (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Azerbaijan) in the internal power struggle in Israel reveals the increasingly integrated position of the Zionist state within the political reality of the Greater Middle East.
Conclusions
The new American administration seeks to reshape the Middle East through new regional alliances; the UAE and Saudi Arabia are playing a central role in the reconstruction of Gaza and normalization with Israel, as part of a strategy to contain Iran and China. However, this plan faces obstacles within Israel, as it is opposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who sees Hezbollah’s weakness and Syria’s situation as providing an opportunity for a military strike against Iran, while rejecting any move toward establishing a Palestinian state, which he views as a fundamental prerequisite for normalization according to the Saudi Crown Prince. In contrast, Naftali Bennett is seen as a U.S.-supported alternative, especially from Miriam Adelson, who played a role in convincing Trump to pressure for the implementation of the deal with Hamas. The analysis indicates that Netanyahu faces the risk of his internal coalition fracturing if he yields to this pressure, potentially leading to early elections that he is expected to lose against Bennett.
References
Trump says civilian award is ‘much better’ than Medal of Honor
בן כספית: זו האישה שהשפיעה על טראמפ לכפות עסקת חטופים
סקר: מפלגה בראשות בנט תשיג יותר מנדטים מהליכוד
