Time is not on Israel’s side as images from Gaza bolster opposition to the war on Hamas, according to former President Donald Trump.
In an interview with Israel Hayom, Trump said Israel had no choice but to take military action after the Oct. 7 massacre of innocent Israelis by Hamas, but he also said, as the bombing of Gaza continues, the violence no longer seems proportional to much of the world.
On Monday, for example, the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Israel, according to CNN.
The U.S., which could have voted against the resolution, instead decided to abstain, allowing the resolution to pass.
In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a scheduled trip to America by two top advisers.
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The Times of Israel called the resolution’s passage “a symbolic blow to Israel’s international standing nearly six months since Hamas’s October 7 onslaught and appeared to highlight a new low in ties between the U.S. and Israel.”
In the interview, Trump said the cumulative effect of months of pictures showing devastation in Gaza is impacting Israel’s support.
“You have to finish up your war, to finish it up. You gotta get it done. And, I am sure you will do that. And we gotta get to peace. We can’t have this going on. And I will say, Israel has to be very careful because you’re losing a lot of the world. You’re losing a lot of support. You have to finish up. You have to get the job done. And you have to get on to peace, to get on to a normal life for Israel and for everybody else,” he said.
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Trump said devastation saturation has reached the tipping point.
“I think Israel made a very big mistake. I wanted to call [Israel] and say don’t do it. These photos and shots. I mean, moving shots of bombs being dropped into buildings in Gaza. And I said, ‘Oh, that’s a terrible portrait. It’s a very bad picture for the world.’ The world is seeing this … [E]very night, I would watch buildings pour down on people,” he said.
When reminded by his interviewer that terrorists hide in the building Israel destroys, he replied, “Go and do what you have to do. But you don’t do that.”
“And I think that’s one of the reasons that there has been a lot of kickback. If people didn’t see that, every single night I’ve watched every single one of those. And I think Israel wanted to show that it’s tough, but sometimes you shouldn’t be doing that,” Trump continued.
Trump said recent remarks from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer criticizing Netanyahu reveal “a great division in the United States.”
Trump said the progressives, citing Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York by name, are partly to blame for attitudes toward Israel.
“All they do is talk badly about Israel, and they hate Israel, and they hate the Jewish people. And they are open about it. Take a look at some of these, Rashida Tlaib, what she says, the way she talks, and they truly hate the Jewish people,” he said.
Trump said Biden should share the blame for the Oct. 7 massacres because Hamas has “no respect for him. He can’t put two sentences together. He can’t talk. He’s a very dumb person. He’s a dumb person.”
Trump said Hamas “saw him as a weak, ineffective president. They would have never done that attack if I were there.”
“Remember this, Biden is not a friend of Israel. Because if Biden was a friend of Israel, October 7 would have never happened. Forget about what happened after October 7. October 7 would have never happened if you had a friend named Biden, because if you had the proper president, that would have never happened,” he said.
During the interview, Trump said Vice President Kamala Harris is no better.
“How could a Jewish person vote for Kamala Harris? And essentially, you know, that’s what probably is going to happen because you look at this guy [Biden], he can’t walk down a flight of stairs. He can’t walk across a room. He can’t find the exit to a stage without five different sets of stairs. You might have Kamala Harris if this doesn’t work out. Something happens to him, and you have her. She supports the enemy, but he supports the enemy, too,” Trump said.
