President-elect Donald Trump has promised to finalize a peace deal between Israel and Hamas and end the war in the Gaza Strip during his second term, but no one else will make it happen. They don't trust — not even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump (78): “I don't trust anyone.'' spoke candidly to Time magazine In a Person of the Year interview published Thursday, he said this when asked about his confidence in Israeli leadership.
Time also asked the president-elect whether he still supports the two-state solution proposed by his first administration or whether he supports Prime Minister Netanyahu's annexation of the West Bank.
President Trump responded, “What I want is an agreement that brings peace and stops the killings.''
President Trump blocked Prime Minister Netanyahu's absorption of the West Bank during his first term as president, but pointed to the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre that left more than 1,000 people dead. With the next change of government, he seemed ready to change direction.
“I stopped him. But let's see what happens,” he said. “October 7th was a very bad day. You know, October 7th. People are forgetting about it. They never mention it. It was a tragic day.”
Trump added: “I want a long-lasting peace. I'm not saying that's a likely scenario, but I want a long-lasting peace, so that there won't be October 7th within three years.'' I hope for peace.”
“And there are a lot of ways to do that. You can do it in two states, but there are a lot of ways you can do it,” he added.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who was chosen by President Trump to be ambassador to Israel, has supported Israeli settlement development and in a recent interview said he was open to annexing Judea and Samaria, known as the West Bank. he declared.
“Well, of course,” Hakabi said of the possibility of annexation in an interview with Israel Army Radio in mid-November, before adding, “I'm not going to dictate policy. I'm going to carry out the president's policy.” .
Huckabee also did not rule out US support for Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip.
“I didn't have time to process it,” he added. “I don't want to comment on policy because that's not my responsibility.”
President Trump's overall assessment of the war was that it would make the Ukraine-Russia war easier to resolve.
He met Prime Minister Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago residence and has long vowed to bring peace to the Middle East.
“Things are happening very productively in the Middle East as we speak,” President Trump told Time magazine. “I think the Middle East problem will be solved. I think it's more complicated than the Russia-Ukraine problem, but I think it's easier to solve.”
