(TheIndependentStar.com) – In a rift between two of the world’s most important conservative leaders, former President Donald Trump has levied substantial criticism against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, particularly regarding his leadership during the October 7 Islamist terrorist attack.
On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian Arab terror group Hamas launched an assault on Israel, massacring over 1,400 Israelis and foreigners, and kidnapping over 200 others.
Netanyahu has faced significant scrutiny for the handling of the attack and its aftermath, The Daily Caller notes in a report.
In an interview with Time Magazine, Trump said the critique aimed at Netanyahu was warranted. He slammed Netanyahu’s hesitance to collaborate on the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the former leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, during Trump’s term.
“Well, I had a bad experience with Bibi,” Trump recounted to Time.
“And it had to do with Soleimani, because as you probably know by now, he dropped out just before the attack. And I said, ‘What’s that all about?’ Because that was going to be a joint and all of a sudden, we were told that Israel was not doing it. And I was not happy about that. That was something I never forgot. And it showed me something. I would say that what happened on — the October 7 should have never happened,” the presumed GOP presidential nominee elaborated.
Trump also commented on the lasting implications of the October 7 events on Netanyahu.
“I think it’s had a profound impact on him, despite everything. Because people said that shouldn’t have happened. They have the most sophisticated equipment. They had —everything was there to stop that. And a lot of people knew about it, you know, thousands and thousands of people knew about it, but Israel didn’t know about it, and I think he’s being blamed for that very strongly, being blamed,” Trump stated.
In the interview, Trump praised Benny Gantz, Netanyahu’s rival and a member of his war cabinet, but refrained from stating a preference for working with Gantz over Netanyahu should he be reelected.
However, the 45th president of the United States did acknowledge that there might be other capable leaders for Israel.
“And I will say this, Bibi Netanyahu rightfully has been criticized for what took place on October 7,” Trump reiterated.
He also revealed a shift from his previous stance on the two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.
“Most people thought it was going to be a two-state solution. I’m not sure a two-state solution anymore is gonna work. Everybody was talking about two states, even when I was there… There was a time when I thought two states could work. Now I think two states is going to be very, very tough. I think it’s going to be much tougher to get. I also think you have fewer people that liked the idea. You had a lot of people that liked the idea four years ago. Today, you have far fewer people that like that idea,” Trump declared.
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