Former President Donald Trump criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his leadership during the Oct. 7 attacks and said his hopes for a two-state solution have evaporated in a Tuesday Time Magazine interview.
Terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing over 1,200 civilians and kidnapping hundreds of others, with Netanyahu coming under fire since the attack and subsequent conflict. Trump said the criticism directed at Netanyahu over the attack is justified and also attacked the prime minister for being skittish on helping with the assassination of Iranian Qasem Solemaini, former head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’, during his presidency. (RELATED: Netanyahu Defies Biden, Green Lights Offensive Into Hamas Stronghold)
שום החלטה, לא בהאג ולא בשום מקום אחר, לא תפגע כהוא זה בנחישות שלנו להשיג את כל מטרות המלחמה. pic.twitter.com/n6E5kvppvC
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) April 30, 2024
“Well, I had a bad experience with Bibi,” Trump told 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.”
“I think it’s had a profound impact on him, despite everything,” Trump added. “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 also complimented Netanyahu’s rival and war cabinet member Benny Gantz, but neglected to comment on whether he would prefer to work with him over the current prime minister if the former president is reelected. However, he said he believes others could be effective leaders of the country.
“And I will say this, Bibi Netanyahu rightfully has been criticized for what took place on October 7,” Trump added.
Trump previously held the belief that a two-state solution could be possible for Israel, but now believes it will be extremely difficult, the former president told Time.
“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,” he said. “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.”
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