Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Yechiel Leiter to serve as the country’s next ambassador to Washington, Netanyahu’s office announced on Friday. Leiter previously served as his chief of staff when Netanyahu was finance minister.
Leiter’s appointment just days after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election can be seen as a bellwether of where the Israeli leader may seek to take his country’s relationship with the United States over the next four years.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Yechiel Leiter to serve as the country’s next ambassador to Washington, Netanyahu’s office announced on Friday. Leiter previously served as his chief of staff when Netanyahu was finance minister.
Leiter’s appointment just days after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election can be seen as a bellwether of where the Israeli leader may seek to take his country’s relationship with the United States over the next four years.
Leiter, who was born in the United States, is a strong supporter of the settlement movement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and lives in the Eli settlement, north of Ramallah. This has prompted speculation that Netanyahu may seek a green light from the United States to formally annex the Palestinian territory during Trump’s second term. Leiter’s son was killed last year fighting in the war against Hamas in Gaza.
Netanyahu notched a number of important diplomatic wins from the first Trump administration, including U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and the transfer of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.
“Yechiel Leiter is a highly capable diplomat, an eloquent speaker, and has a deep understanding of American culture and politics,” Netanyahu said in a statement on Friday. Leiter will take office on Jan. 20, when Trump is inaugurated.
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