Israel’s refusal to seal a military deal with the administration of US President Barack Obama in hope of getting a better deal with the next American leader will probably fail, says a Washington-based investigative journalist.
As the US presidential candidates were preparing for the New Hampshire caucuses on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a Sunday cabinet meeting that if Israel's security needs were not met, he would not sign a deal and instead wait for the next US president to take office in January 2017.
With American billionaire Donald Trump and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders leading the polls in the key state, that is unlikely, Wayne Madsen told Press TV in a phone interview Monday.
Madsen said he was “glad” that the Obama administration had “decided to pressure Israel” over the new military aid package, ruling out the idea that the next president would be easier for Israel to deal with.
Sanders is “no fan of Netanyahu” and, as the president, he will “allow the anti-Netanyahu Jewish lobby group, J Street, to… determine the US policy” towards Tal Aviv, Madsen said.
Trump, on the other hand, will go against the will of the Israelis, Madsen argued, quoting statements by the real estate mogul about a “certain” country in the Middle East.
“He has not named [Israel] because he has business,” with the regime, Madsen noted.
Bibi “will get his wish” only if former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or or Texas Senator Ted Cruz make it to the White House, he added.
The White House has already said, "From the $20.5 billion in Foreign Military Financing to the additional $3 billion in missile defense funding the United States has provided under his leadership, no other US Administration in history has done more for Israel's security."