U.S. President Donald Trump said he supports Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and said he thinks they will be “very successful” in keeping the “Peace in the Middle East.”
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“We decided to create a new convention, to award the Israel prize, we’ve never awarded it to a non-Israeli, we’re going to award it this year to U.S. President Donald Trump.”
Netanyahu invited Trump to Israel for Independence Day, “to reflect the overwhelming sentiment of Israelis across the spectrum. They appreciate what you’ve done to help Israel and to help a common battle against the terrorists and those who would destroy our civilization,” he said.
When Trump was asked if he pushed Israel pull back from the Gaza Yellow Line border before Hamas disarms, he said he and Netanyahu “talked about disarmament, and they’re going to be given a very short period of time to disarm, and we’ll see how that works out….[withdrawal] is a separate subject.”
Trump said that if Hamas doesn’t disarm, “it would be horrible for them. Horrible. I don’t want that to happen, but they made an agreement that they were going to disarm and you couldn’t blame Israel.”
Trump said that 59 countries are part of the agreement securing the cease-fire. “They want to go in and wipe out Hamas. They don’t want Israel. They don’t need Israel. They want to do it because it’s the right thing to do. They were for the deal based on the fact that Hamas pledged – they swore – that they were going to disarm. Now, if they’re not going to disarm, those same countries will wipe out Hamas.”
On the possibility of the Palestinian Authority taking over the governance of the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu said that “President Trump clearly put the conditions of reform that he wants to see in the Palestinian Authority for them to be involved. Real reforms, not just perfunctory reforms. Change pay-to-slay, change the curriculum in your textbooks, open up a different society and a different future.”
Speaking on the possibility of relocating Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to other locations in the world, Trump said that he was told Monday that “half of Gaza would leave. I’ve always said it. I said that if they were given the opportunity to live in a better climate, they would move. They’re there because they sort of have to be. I think it would be a great opportunity, but let’s see if that opportunity presents itself.”
Speaking about violence carried out by settlers in the West Bank, Trump said that they “had a discussion, … and I wouldn’t say we agree on the West Bank 100%, but we’ll come to a conclusion on the West Bank. He will do the right thing.”
Trump also said that he respects Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan, “and Bibi respects him. They’re not gonna have a problem,” he added.
The U.S. President also said that he is not concerned about what Israel is doing in regards to the cease-fire in Gaza. “They’ve lived up to the plan. Sometimes they don’t understand when somebody violates something that you want to give them a second chance. Well, we’ll give them a couple of second chances, but no. Israel’s lived up to the plan 100%,” he said.
Regarding Iran’s efforts to rebuild its nuclear capabilities, Trump said that if they are, “we’re going to have no choice but very quickly to eradicate that buildup. So I hope Iran is not trying to build up as I’ve been reading that they’re building up weapons and other things, and if they are, they’re not using the sites that we obliterated, but they’re using possibly different sites we know exactly where they’re going, what they’re doing,” he said, threatening to use the B2 bomber to strike Iran again. He also said Iran “knows the consequences, they will be very powerful, maybe more powerful than the last time.”
Regarding Syrian president Ahmad al-Sharaa, Trump said that “he respects the new president, he’s a very strong guy. you cant put a choir boy or someone who’s a perfect person. We get along with him great, i cant ask for anything more. We had that mishap with ISIS and he was fighting them. I’m sure Israel and him will get along. I’ll try to make sure that they get along.”
Trump also said that Israel and Saudi Arabia “are getting along great,” adding that at some point, the Saudis will sign the Abraham Accords, which he also said will soon be expanded. “Countries are already talking about it, they’ll be expanded fairly quickly.”
Netanyahu added that Israel’s interest is to “have a peaceful border with Syria. We want to make sure the border area next to our border is safe, and we don’t have terrorists or attacks. We also want to secure our Druze friends, he said, adding that Christian communities should be protected as well.