Trump's Comments Outside Mar-a-Lago Read Like a Script Direct From Netanyahu
Trump avoided a firm timeline on advancing the Gaza cease-fire, insinuated U.S. involvement in future action against Iran, and invoked a presidential pardon for Netanyahu. The start of the prime minister's U.S. visit is so far, so good
December 29, 2025Updated:December 24, 2025
WASHINGTON - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Mar-a-Lago on Monday to pay fealty to U.S. President Donald Trump marks his fifth visit to the U.S. in the past calendar year.
For all the murmurs and leaks about growing U.S. impatience with Israel's actions in Gaza and concerns about ratcheted-up tensions with Iran that could once again bring the Middle East on the precipice of regional war, in a brief appearance alongside Netanyahu on the steps of Mar-a-Lago, Trump once again demonstrated that he is firmly in Israel's corner.
Whether declining to put a firm timeline on moving Gaza to the next phase ("I think it's gonna begin pretty soon,") declining to publicly assert any pressure on Netanyahu over a Turkish military presence in Gaza, or effectively committing to involving U.S. forces in any new military action against Iranian nuclear targets ("If Iran builds up again, we'll knock the hell out of them,") Netanyahu could not have scripted Trump's answers better.
This dream script became even more of a fantasy for Netanyahu when Trump claimed that he spoke directly with Israeli President Isaac Herzog regarding a potential pardon in Netanyahu's ongoing corruption trials – a conversation that had not been publicly disclosed prior to Trump's statement, though one that would offer yet another unprecedented interference in Israel's rule of law and encroachment on its status as an independent democracy.
The president immediately denied Trump's claim, saying that several weeks ago he had spoken with a "representative" of Trump's to update them on the progress of the pardon request.
Trump's Comments Outside Mar-a-Lago Read Like a Script Direct From Netanyahu - Haaretz Today
These Israelis Fought in Gaza and the West Bank. They Can't Escape Their Inner Hell
Haaretz
|
