Trump just intervened in the Israeli political crisis to voice support for Netanyahu

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Trump just intervened in the Israeli political crisis to voice support for Netanyahu

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trump netanyahu

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

President Donald Trump and Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands while walking through the colonnade prior to an Oval Office meeting at the White House March 25, 2019 in Washington, DC.

  • President Donald Trump offered public support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the country's political chaos.
  • Trump tweeted in support of Netanyahu's efforts to form a coalition 48 hours before the deadline for putting together a new government.
  • The tweet was an unprecedented intervention in another country's coalition negotiations. 
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump offered unprecedented public support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid tense chaos ahead of a possible snap election in the country.

Trump said in a Monday afternoon tweet that he hopes "things will work out with Israel's coalition formation," the struggle over which has kept the country in a tense period of political instability.

"Hoping things will work out with Israel's coalition formation and Bibi and I can continue to make the alliance between America and Israel stronger than ever," Trump posted on Twitter during his state visit to Japan, using the veteran leader's nickname. "A lot more to do!"

Trump's comment was notable because he is intervening in coalition negotiations by voicing public support for a contender for power and in a foreign country's politics.

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Netanyahu, a controversial figure to back as he's currently facing indictments for bribes, breach of trust, and fraud, thanked Trump for the tweet during a press conference shortly after, saying that "Trump is right - we still have a lot of work to do."

The prime minister was reelected to a fifth term last month, but is facing a fractured government. Reuters reported that the country's parliament decided to dissolve itself in a preliminary vote but are likely to hold a final vote on the matter Wednesday.

If Netanyahu is cannot form a new government by the deadline, Israel would have a second national election in the same year, an unprecedented occurrence, Reuters reported.

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