Yechiel Leiter, a rightwing publicist and government aide, is also a longtime backer of settlements in the West Bank

Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed a hardline supporter of the war in Gaza and longtime backer of settlements in the West Bank as his ambassador to the US as Israel prepares for the incoming administration of Donald Trump.

Yechiel Leiter, an American-born rightwing publicist and former government aide who immigrated to Israel four decades ago, was announced as Israel’s next ambassador to Washington on Friday. His son, a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces, was killed in fighting in northern Gaza last year.