Former President Donald Trump has warned Israel to quickly end its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, telling an Israeli newspaper that the Jewish state is rapidly cutting back on international aid.
Calling the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack by Hamas “one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen,” the 77-year-old president said Israel made “a very big mistake” with its ferocious response. committed a crime.”
“These photos and shots. I mean, videos of bombs being dropped on buildings in Gaza,” the former president said. During an interview with Israel Hayomowned by the family of the late casino mogul and major Republican donor Sheldon Adelson.
“So I said, ‘Oh, that’s a terrible portrait. This is a very bad situation for the world,'” President Trump continued. “The world is watching this…I was watching buildings rain down on people every night. They claim it was provided by the Department of Defense and whoever provided it says it’s a bad image. Let’s go.”
“The war has to end…it has to get done,” the 45th president said. “And I’m sure you will. And we have to be at peace, we can’t go on like this.
“And I say, Israel needs to be very careful because it’s losing a lot of the world and it’s losing a lot of support,” Trump continued. “We must restore peace and continue normal life for Israel and others.”
But in the same interview, President Trump told Israelis that if the United States were hit by an attack similar to the October 7 attack that killed an estimated 1,200 people, “I would act just like you did.” admitted. There are 33 American citizens.
When the interviewer pointed out that “terrorists are hiding in those buildings” in Gaza, Trump replied, “Go and do what you have to do.” But you don’t do that.
“And I think that’s one of the reasons why there were so many kickbacks. Even if people didn’t see it, I’ve watched all of them every night. And Israel has said that it’s tough. I think I wanted to show that sometimes you shouldn’t do that.”
During his first term, the 45th president very publicly pursued a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, which he described as the “ultimate deal.”
Although President Trump fell short of that goal, his administration achieved another breakthrough by brokering the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.
Trump has positioned himself as a staunch ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he forged a close relationship during his first term.
Since then, President Trump has appeared to have worsened his attitude toward Netanyahu, complaining that “this is what Netanyahu said” shortly after the deadly Hamas attack in October.please let me down”, hinting at his dissatisfaction with the prime minister who recognized President Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
President Trump told Israel Hayom that he blamed his successor for the attack on Hamas, “because they don’t respect him.”
“He can’t put two sentences together,” the former president said of Biden. “He can’t talk. He’s a very stupid person. He’s a stupid person. His foreign policy over 50 years has been terrible. If you look at the people who were in other administrations with him, They saw him as a weak and incompetent president. [Hamas] If I had been there, I would never have made that attack. ”
President Trump also addressed his frequent complaints about Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats, including his recent statement that “all Jews who vote for Democrats hate their own religion.”
“I think there is a problem because if we have to persuade them, it should be automatic,” he told Israel Harom. “I’m not Jewish. Still, Israel is very important to me.”
The former president’s daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism in 2009 before her wedding to Jared Kushner.
The interview with President Trump was published on the same day that Netanyahu withdrew plans to send a delegation to Washington to resolve differences over a military operation planned for the southern Gaza city of Rafah, and the U.S. protested against abstaining from the ceasefire resolution at the United Nations General Assembly. united nations.
Biden warned Israel against sending troops to Rafah, where an estimated 1.4 million Palestinians have fled, without a solid plan in place to protect civilians.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has vowed to storm Rafah, noting that it is one of Hamas’ last major strongholds in the Gaza Strip.
