Trump: Israel Is ‘Losing A Lot Of Support’ Needs To ‘Finish Up’ War In Gaza
Donald Trump said on Monday that Israel needs to âfinish upâ the war in Gaza and that the country âhas to be very carefulâ because it is âlosing a lot of support.â
The former president and presumptive Republican nominee for 2024 made his remarks in an interview with an Israeli news outlet.
âItâs a Very Bad Picture for the Worldâ
Trump gave his comments right after Israel canceled a visit by delegates to Washington, DC.
Politico reports, âThe presumptive Republican nomineeâs comments come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pulled an Israel delegation that was set to visit Washington after the U.S. allowed a resolution calling for a cease-fire to pass the U.N. Security Council.â
âTrumpâs remarks also come as President Joe Bidenâs administration has grown increasingly critical of Israelâs planned military offensive in Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than 1 million Palestinians have sought refuge from the conflict.â
The Politico story continued:
In an interview with Israel Hayom, a publication owned by the family of the late conservative real estate magnate Sheldon Adelson, Trump suggested he would have acted very similarly to Israelâs government in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants. But he also said Israel made âa very big mistakeâ with photos and imagery of bombs dropped on Gaza helping push public opinion against the war.
âI wanted to call [Israel] and say donât do it,â Trump told the outlet. âThese photos and shots. I mean, moving shots of bombs being dropped into buildings in Gaza. And I said, Oh, thatâs a terrible portrait. Itâs a very bad picture for the world.â
Trump â who has described himself as the âmost pro-Israel president everâ â has previously suggested the need for a quick end to the war in Gaza.
Trump On Israel-Hamas War: âA Lot of People Are Dyingâ
Trump said of the conflict in November, âSo you have a war thatâs going on, and youâre probably going to have to let this play out. Youâre probably going to have to let it play out because a lot of people are dying.â
âThere is no hatred like the Palestinian hatred of Israel and Jewish people. And probably the other way around also, I donât know,â he added.
Trump finished, âYou know, itâs not as obvious, but probably thatâs it too. So sometimes you have to let things play out and you have to see where it ends.â