Trump says he will look at helping Netanyahu after Israeli prime minister claims election ‘stolen’

US president Donald Trump has said he will “take a look” at helping Benjamin Netanyahu after the prime minister claimed the Israel election was “stolen”. Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc secured the most seats in Israel's parliament but still lost its parliamentary majority on Tuesday despite a glowing endorsement from US president Trump.His Likud party on Wednesday claimed voter fraud perpetrated by Arab citizens had stopped him from winning a clear victory in the election - claims already shot down by Israeli police.Even as Netanyahu cried foul, Trump claimed that his endorsement had lifted Netanyahu in Tuesday’s vote.President Donald Trump says that his endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned the latter's campaign around (Reuters)“I heard my endorsement made a big difference for Bibi,” Trump told Axios in a brief interview on Wednesday, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. Trump said he had initially received “horror reports” about his ally’s prospects in the polls, but felt he was “in pretty good shape now”.Asked whether he might intervene in an effort to form a Netanyahu-led unity government in Israel, he said he hadn’t thought about it but would “take a look”.With nearly 94% of votes tallied on Wednesday, Netanyahu's bloc was set to win 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, well ahead of the 48 for rival Gadi Eisenkot's opposition bloc.Parties representing Arab Israelis were projected to win an unprecedented 19 seats, leaving Eisenkot little realistic path to power without their broad backing, which many Jewish political leaders reject.Trump said he wanted Netanyahu to remain in power to help him soon "finish the job” against Iran (AFP/Getty)In a statement shared by Netanyahu, Likud insisted there was “evidence of election theft in many Arab polling stations” and urged law enforcement to “act harshly and swiftly”.Israel police said they had no investigative or intelligence-based evidence supporting the allegations, however, after the party demanded and investigation into alleged voting irregularities.Police received 48 complaints concerning fraud and impersonation nationwide as of Tuesday night, down from nearly 80 in the previous election.They stressed that neither investigative findings nor intelligence supported the allegations raised.In his October 18 endorsement, Trump said he wanted Netanyahu to remain in power to help him soon "finish the job” against Iran.Israeli left-wing activists hold placards during a protest calling for a formation of a government, in Tel Aviv on Wednesday (AFP/Getty)The president said overnight that Netanyahu, who outperformed pre-election polls, had done "very well" and that his backing had boosted the Israeli leader.Earlier on Wednesday, he shared a statement attributed to somebody called “Irving C. Schwartz” that assessed Trump’s endorsement had “turned the tide” in the election.“When President Trump endorsed Bibi Netanyahu, the whole tide turned, and now, rather than a decisive defeat for a Great Prime Minister, it looks like a big come-from-behind stalemate, or even a WIN for Netanyahu,” read the statement shared to his Truth Social profile.While Netanyahu now seems in a stronger position, neither side is projected to have an outright path to form a new government after Israel’s first election since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023.The stage appears to be set for a period of painstaking coalition bargaining – or possibly another election – while Netanyahu remains in power in a caretaker capacity.Experts say the caretaker role would still retain powers, including over the war in Iran.Trump shared a post saying he deserved the credit for Netanyahu’s survival (@RealDonaldTrump/Truth Social)Consequently, the outcome of the election will have implications for US-Israeli relations, which have been dominated by the joint fight against Iran, stalled Gaza peace efforts and signs of eroding US public support for Israel.“Israeli politics can be messy,” said Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East adviser in Democratic and Republican administrations.From the US perspective, he said, “it would be good to get some clarity, but that's easier said than done”.But Jonathan Panikoff, a former deputy US national intelligence officer on the Middle East, said any future Israeli leadership would likely be on the same page as Trump if he decides to escalate from the current stalemate with Israel’s regional arch-foe.“It’s hard to imagine any real daylight between them on that point,” said Panikoff, now at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington.