After cutting ties, Trump and Netanyahu appear to be reconciled. Netanyahu is grateful for Trump’s past work, who, for his part, promises to end wars in the Middle East if he wins.
Former US President Donald Trump warned on Friday before a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that there will be a “big war” in the Middle East and perhaps a “third world war” if he fails in the November presidential election.
“If we win, it will be very simple,” the Republican politician told reporters before the meeting. He will be a candidate again in the presidential elections on November 5, but he left a warning in case he is defeated: “We will end up with major wars in the Middle East and perhaps a Third World War”.
For the former White House leader, the world is now closer to a global conflict than “at any time since World War II.”
Trump warmly welcomed the Israeli prime minister in Florida, the first meeting between the two politicians since 2020, when relations between them cooled due to Democrat Joe Biden’s electoral victory over the former White House leader.
According to the Associated Press (AP), Trump was waiting on the stone steps outside his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, to greet the Israeli prime minister, who is on the fifth day of a week-long visit to the United States aimed at shoring up support for the war against the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“For civilization to prevail, America and Israel must remain united”: Netanyahu’s polarizing speech in Congress
Before the reporters sat down to talk, Netanyahu handed Trump a framed photograph that he said Israeli leader shows child abducted by Hamas fighters in attack in southern Israel on October 7.which caused almost 1,200 deaths and triggered the current conflict.
“Let’s face it,” said Trump, who will try to return to the White House in November after being defeated in 2020 by Joe Biden and having challenged the election results, alleging fraud.
Trump severed ties with Netanyahu in early 2021after the Israeli prime minister became one of the first world leaders to congratulate Biden on his victory.
“Bibi [diminutivo do nome do primeiro-ministro de Israel] “He could have just kept quiet,” Trump said at the time in an interview with an Israeli newspaper, adding: “He made a terrible mistake.”
As president, Trump went much further than his predecessors in fulfilling Netanyahu’s key U.S. wishes, such as moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move strongly criticized by most Western diplomats, Palestinian movements and their Arab allies in the region.
For Trump, Friday’s meeting could reinforce his image as an ally and statesman, as well as intensify Republican efforts to present themselves as the party most loyal to Tel Aviv, while for Netanyahu, reestablishing relations with the former White House leader is imperative, given the prospect that he could return to power in the country that is Israel’s main arms supplier.
Netanyahu and Trump last met in a major, symbolic White House ceremony in September 2020 to sign a Washington-brokered deal in which the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.
In public messages and statements after his split with Netanyahu, Trump said he had put himself on the line for Israel as president and had received disloyalty from the Israeli leader in return.
He also criticized Netanyahu more recently, accusing him, for example, of “not being prepared” for the Hamas attacks on October 7 that started the war in the Gaza Strip.
This sixth fair, the Republican returned to his legacy in Casa Branca to say: “Nenhum president fez o que eu fiz por Israel”, according to the EFE agency, during what appears to be the end of a lunch, second in a video published in social networks.
Netanyahu, in turn, thanked Trump for the work he did to “promote stability in the region.” through the two Abraham Accords and the transfer of the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem,” according to the former US president’s campaign.
In a statement after the two politicians began their meeting, Trump’s team said the Republican candidate pledged to “make every effort to bring peace to the Middle East” if elected. He also promised to combat anti-Semitism in universities.in reference to the student protests in the United States about two months ago against the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu’s trip to Florida follows a forceful speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday and meetings the next day with Biden and his vice president, Kamala Harris, who announced her candidacy for the White House against Trump on Sunday.
“For civilization to prevail, America and Israel must remain united”: Netanyahu’s polarizing speech in Congress
Harris warned Netanyahu that he “will not remain silent” regarding the human suffering in the Gaza Strip and said the time has come to sign a deal with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas for a ceasefire in the enclave.
“It’s time to conclude the ceasefire agreement.” Kamala Harris puts pressure on Netanyahu in White House meeting
In response, Trump said the vice president’s comments were “disrespectful and unfriendly to Israel,” adding that he does not understand how a Jew could vote for her.
In his speech to Congress, Natanyahu called for more weapons from the United States to “accelerate the end of the war” in the Gaza Strip and advocated a demilitarized zone in the enclave with a post-conflict civilian administration.
The Israeli prime minister thanked US President Joe Biden for his support against Hamas and his involvement in the effort to free hostages held by the Palestinian group since its attack on October 7.
Netanyahu thanks Biden and looks forward to working together in coming months
He also called for unity among the American ally against an “axis of terror” sponsored by Iran, which he said is destabilizing the entire Middle East and also affecting the United States.
In addition to Biden, Netanyahu also praised Trump in his speech to Congress. “I want to thank President Trump for everything he did for Israel,” the Israeli leader said, once again lamenting the “despicable” assassination attempt that targeted the former Republican leader of the White House on July 13.
Inside and outside the Capitol, images of protests against Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech
The protests continued the next day at the White House, as Biden hosted Netanyahu in a meeting the U.S. president said served to pressure the Israeli leader into reaching a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
Source: Observadora
