Former US President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would like the IDF to end the war in the Gaza Strip when he returns to the White House if he wins the election, The Times of Israel reports, citing two sources.
The Republican presidential candidate made the request when he hosted Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in July.
According to a former US official, Trump made no specific call and could well support “residual” IDF activity in Gaza if Israel were to officially announce a decision to end the war.
Trump and Netanyahu have spoken several times since their July meeting, and last week the US presidential candidate said the Israeli prime minister called him two days in a row. Two senior Israeli sources told the publication that they were concerned by Trump’s repeated calls to quickly end the war in Gaza. They fear that failure to do so will lead to conflict between the United States and Israel if a Republican wins the election. One of the opposition lawmakers expressed the opinion that prolonging the war until the inauguration of the new US president in January 2025 would ruin relations with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, if she wins in November.
Netanyahu made it clear this week that the conflict is still far from over and does not agree with Hamas’ demand to end the war in exchange for the return of 101 hostages, the Times of Israel writes.
Trump has hinted in recent days that if he returns to the White House he will give Israel more freedom in decision-making and criticized the current American leader. joe biden for asking the IDF to limit its response to the Iranian attack on October 1, RBC recalls.
