Trump win a 'Phyrric victory' for Israel: Analyst

Yonatan Mendel, the director of the Israeli Strategic Forum at the Oxford Research Group think tank, tells Middle East Eye that it's still unclear what Trump's presidency will mean for Israel and Palestine but cautions the Israeli right against celebrating too wildly.

"Clinton and the Obama administration were ultimately very good at talking, but their commitment to peace changed nothing in reality," said Mendel.

"The Occupation of the West Bank continued under Obama, the blockade of Gaza continued under Obama, the expansion of settlements did not stop, and there is no reason to believe that things could have been different if Clinton was elected."

But Mendel said that any tilt towards Israel in American policy under Trump, and calls from the Israeli right for Trump to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, risked destabilising the situation.

"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict yearns for a just solution, a solution that would serve the interests of both Israelis and Palestinians, and any other solution means deepening asymmetries," he said.

"The celebrations of the Israeli right attest to a creeping danger. Right-wing settlers may enjoy Trump's victory but there is no doubt that this is a Phyrric victory for Israel - a victory that ends in failure and political catastrophe."