US election results fuel Israeli opposition's push to remove Netanyahu

As news emerged on Wednesday that the Democratic Party had won a landslide victory, regaining control of the US Congress, Israeli politicians, journalists and experts warned of the results' grave implications for Israel's national security, pointing to the declining standing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the US. Former Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid, who was re-elected to parliament last week as part of the centre-right Together alliance, said the US election results had "eliminated" any possibility of forming a unity government with Netanyahu. "Israel cannot afford for him to remain prime minister. It endangers security, it endangers democracy, it will crush us in the world," Lapid said on X on Wednesday morning. Recent Israeli reports indicated that US President Donald Trump is applying pressure on Netanyahu and the Israeli opposition leaders to form a unity government that will exclude extremists in order to advance his Middle Eastern policies. Yair Golan, leader of the left-wing Democrats alliance, also described Netanyahu as a threat to Israel's security in the wake of the US election results, which saw progressive Democrats, including Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed – the first Muslim elected to the US Senate – win races across the country. Read more: US election results fuel Israeli opposition's push to remove Netanyahu Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he reacts to exit polls, at his party headquarters during Israel's national election, in Jerusalem, 28 October 2026 (Reuters)