How Trump's election victory could affect the wars between Israel and Ukraine

Fawaz Gerges, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics, said Netanyahu undoubtedly “bet on Donald Trump” after he “abandoned Joe Biden.”

Gerges said he feared that under Trump, Washington, already Israel's largest arms supplier, would “give Netanyahu basically anything he wants – especially the green light to continue not just the war in Gaza and Lebanon, but even the fight against Iran.” According to Brown University's Costs of War Project, US spending on Israeli military operations from October 7 last year to September 30 already totaled more than $17.9 billion.

Recalling Trump's 2016 presidency, Gerges said in a telephone interview Tuesday that the Republican had already shown a willingness to “go beyond the call of duty and give everything to Netanyahu,” including his controversial decision to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and his recognition as Israeli sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights.

Despite those concerns, Gerges said the general sentiment in the Arab world is that ultimately “it doesn't matter who wins the White House” because “American foreign policy is historically closely tied to Israel.”

Many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, where Israel believes Trump's victory will mean more freedom to build settlements, appeared to share that opinion.

“As a Palestinian, I don’t think it matters,” he said Riyad Awad, 61, in the central West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday. “Republicans or Democrats — they didn’t help us.”

Video shot by the NBC News team on the ground in Gaza showed Palestinians gathered in a makeshift shelter in Khan Younis and watching the election results on a television screen.

Some expressed deep concerns about Trump's victory, while others were curious about whether he could ultimately be the right figure to end the fighting after months of failed U.S. efforts.

“He said he will end the war,” said 19-year-old Hussam Alsharif, who was driven from his home further south in the enclave by the Israeli offensive. “He is a man of his word. Once he’s in charge, no one can help but obey him.”

Ukraine gives public praise

Ukraine sought to express a similar lack of concern about how the outcome might change America's approach to the war in Europe.

Trump said he could resolve the Russian invasion before he takes office, which would certainly require major concessions that Kiev finds unacceptable. He praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and falsely accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of starting the war while refusing to commit to sending more aid to the embattled country.

Trump will make “attempts to appease the aggressor” – Russia – said Maksym Kostetskyi, head of the Center for Policy Making, a think tank based in Kiev. “I fear it would have a negative impact on Ukrainian society,” he said, “because it is “absolutely unacceptable” to talk about negotiations while Russia is on the offensive.

Still, Zelensky publicly hailed Trump's victory and said he looked forward to an “era of a strong United States of America under the decisive leadership of President Trump.”