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Trump says without Netanyahu, Israel ‘might not exist right now’
Trump has been asked about his appeal for Israeli authorities to drop their corruption case against Netanyahu. “He’s a wartime prime minister. He’s done a phenomenal job,” Trump said.
The US president then credited Netanyahu with navigating Israel through a “dangerous period” in its history. “Israel with other people might not exist right now, if you want to know the truth. That’s a pretty big statement, but it’s true,” he said.
“If you had the wrong prime minister, Israel right now would not exist because they were met with a force the likes of which very few countries could have handled.”
Trump and Netanyahu walk into the Mar-a-Lago residence
Trump says Ran Gvili’s family currently at Mar-a-Lago
The US president has said the relatives of Ran Gvili, the only Israeli captive whose body remains in Gaza, are currently at Mar-a-Lago.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of not fulfilling the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire by not returning Gvili’s body. Hamas has said finding the body remains a challenge due to the widespread destruction in Gaza.
“We’re doing everything we can to get his body back. And the parents just said, ‘Hopefully, he’s alive.’ And I said, ‘I love you to think that way,'” Trump said.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, was asked about his relationship with Trump: “We’ve never had a friend like President Trump in the White House. It’s not even close, and you can judge that by not merely by the frequency of our meetings, but by the content and the intensity.”
Trump says he will ‘knock the hell’ out of Iran if country builds up nuclear capacity
Donald Trump says that the US and Israel were “extremely victorious” in their attacks against Iran earlier this year and that they will “knock the hell” out of the country if it builds up its nuclear or military capacity.
“Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are, we’re going to have to knock them down. We’ll knock them down. We’ll knock the hell out of them,” Trump said.
US media previously reported that Netanyahu has been ratcheting up alarm over Iran’s ballistic missile programme and may use his talks with Trump to push for renewed strikes against Iran.
Trump says Israel ‘living up’ to ceasefire deal
Despite repeated violations and claims that Netanyahu and his allies have dragged their feet, Trump said that Israel is not to blame for the uncertainty in implementing phase two of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
“I’m not concerned about anything that Israel is doing. I’m concerned about what other people are doing, or maybe aren’t doing, but I’m not concerned; they’ve lived up to the plan,” he said.
“Israel has lived up to the plan 100 percent,” he added.
However, when Trump was asked about Israel’s approach to the occupied West Bank and its support for illegal settlements there, the US president said, “I wouldn’t say we agree on the West Bank 100 percent.”
Trump again claims majority of Palestinians want to leave Gaza
The US president appeared to be responding to a May poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in which 49 percent of those surveyed said they would be willing to apply to Israel to leave the enclave.
However, the poll did not specify if leaving would be temporary or permanent. Previous polls have shown that only a fraction of the Gaza population supports permanent relocation, with more support for leaving while Gaza is being reconstructed.
Many Palestinians have voiced concerns over not being able to return if they leave. Trump had suggested a mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza in February, but has since moved away from the position.
“I’ve always said it. I said, if they were given the opportunity to live in a better climate, they would move. They are there because they sort of have to be,” Trump said today.
“I think it would be a great opportunity, but let’s see if that opportunity presents itself. But we’re helping the people of Gaza a lot.
