Washington in contact with Israeli opposition amid possible change in Netanyahu government: Report

The US administration is in contact with the Israeli opposition, amid a possible change in the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following growing differences between Washington and Tel Aviv, Israeli media reported Sunday.

Channel 12 said officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration believe that the Netanyahu government could possibly be changed, prompting Washington to make informal contacts with opposition leaders Naftali Bennett, head of the Together party, and Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party.

“The US administration has expressed concern about hardliners in Netanyahu’s government and is seeking to build a new popular base before the elections,” the outlet said.

According to the channel, the Israeli opposition sought to build ties with the US administration in recent months and has achieved “limited success with officials who are critical of Netanyahu’s policies.”

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The channel said Washington sees a need to build “new informal trust mechanisms” with Israel, even though Trump has not placed his support yet in another Israeli politician.

An opinion poll published by Maariv newspaper on Friday showed that the Israeli opposition could form a government if elections were held today, winning 61 seats in the Knesset against 49 for Netanyahu’s bloc.

The poll also indicated that Arab parties would win 10 seats in the upcoming elections, scheduled for October.

The report came as the US and Iran held negotiations under Pakistani mediation in Switzerland to end their military conflict, triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Tehran in February.

An interim agreement calls for halting hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. The Israeli government, however, has rejected any link between the Iran and Lebanon files.

Netanyahu says that Israel will not withdraw from the territory occupied in southern Lebanon.

Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed nearly 4,000 and injured over 12,000 others since March 2, according to official Lebanese figures.

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