US President Donald Trump on ⁠Sunday endorsed his ally Benjamin Netanyahu ⁠as the long-time Israeli prime minister struggles for an edge in next week’s parliamentary election.

Trump praised Netanyahu as a “great warrior prime minister” and peace partner, crediting him with joining the United States in launching strikes on Iran in February. The conflict, in ‌its seventh month, has disrupted energy markets globally and wreaked havoc across the Middle East, damaging critical infrastructure and destabilising regional economies.

“Bibi Netanyahu has been Strong, Brave, and Brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition, including that coming from even Israel, itself,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

“Despite all of that, he has endured and, in fact, he has thrived! I ⁠have watched Bibi under the most trying of times. Normal men or women in such situations would ‌have wilted under the pressure – But Bibi did not wilt, he actually got stronger, and maintains that same Strength today.”