The last time Donald Trump was president, Israel's prime minister was so happy that he named a neighborhood after him. Trump Heights is a remote collection of prefabricated dwellings in the rocky, mine-strewn topography of the Golan Heights, with a soaring eagle-and-menorah statue protecting the entrance gate. Mauve mountain peaks thrust into the azure sky toward the horizon. This was Trump's reward for defying half a century of US policy - and broad international consensus - by recognizing Israel's territorial claims to the Golan, which was conquered from Syria in the 1967 war and then forcefully annexed.
The question for inhabitants there - two dozen families and a few billeted military - is whether Republican nominee Trump or Democratic competitor Kamala Harris will have an impact on Israel's regional interests right now. Elik Goldberg and his wife Hodaya relocated to Trump Heights with their four children seeking the safety of a small rural town. Since the Hamas strikes in southern Israel on October 7, last year, they've watched Israel's battle with Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, intensify along the northern border with Lebanon, just 10 miles from them."For the last year, our beautiful green open space has a lot of smoke, and our lovely view is a view of rockets that Hezbollah is sending to us," Elik told me. "This is a war zone and we don't know when it will end."
During his last term as president, he gained favor with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by canceling an Iran nuclear deal that Israel opposed, brokering historic normalization agreements with several Arab countries, and recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, which contradicted decades of US policy. Mr. Netanyahu once called him "the best friend Israel has ever had in the White House".
As America prepares to vote, the Israeli leader has not concealed his admiration for the Republican candidate - and polls show he is not alone. Recent polls show that almost two-thirds of Israelis would prefer to see Trump return to the White House. However, many Palestinians see little hope in either candidate.
"The overall estimation is that the Democrats are bad, but if Trump is elected, it'll be even worse," said Mustafa Barghouti, a respected Palestinian thinker and politician in the West Bank."The main difference is that Kamala Harris will be more sensitive to the shift in American public opinion, which means more in favor of a ceasefire."The Gaza War has raised pressure from US allies such as Saudi Arabia for progress toward establishing a Palestinian state. However, neither candidate has prioritized the construction of a Palestinian state. When asked if he would support it during the presidential debates, Mr. Trump answered, "I'd have to see".
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