Midterm results put U.S.-Israel ties under further strain

The political implications were visible even before the election results. On election day, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would stop providing about $4 billion in annual military aid to Israel, America’s closest ally in West Asia, by the end of the year. Mr. Trump cited the political cost of the issue for Republicans, specifically referring to Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate from Michigan, who has made opposition to U.S. military assistance to Israel a central campaign plank. Mr. El-Sayed beat Mike Rogers of the Republican Party to become the first Muslim Senator of the U.S..   

Mr. Trump’s announcement showed that even the Republican President, who moved the American embassy to Jerusalem in his first term, cracked down on pro-Palestine protests at home and launched a war, along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, against Iran, recognised the growing electoral liability of unconditional support for Israel.