TEL AVIV, Oct. 18 -- Nine days before Israelis vote, Donald Trump has told them that if they choose a leader other than Benjamin Netanyahu, "America will have to do this work ourselves."

Trump posted the message on Truth Social on Sunday, addressed to Israelis, and called it his "complete and total endorsement" of Netanyahu's re-election bid, according to Anadolu Agency and Middle East Eye. He described the prime minister as "a Great Warrior Prime Minister," the Times of Israel reported, and as "Strong, Brave, and Brilliant." It follows weeks in which Trump declined to say whom he backed. Netanyahu's office listed no meetings with US officials for his brief September UN trip, as TEH reported.

The timing matters because the race is a dea...