Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu (AP)
US President Donald Trump said Washington will “be involved” in the criminal trial of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claiming that the premier has been treated unfairly.“We’ll be involved in that to help him out a little bit because I think it’s very unfair,” Trump said in an interview with CBS News, suggesting that further US involvement in the Israeli prime minister’s criminal case could follow.Trump has repeatedly weighed in on the case in recent months, rejecting the bribery, fraud, and breach of trust charges against Netanyahu. “I had to push him a little bit one way or the other. I did a great job in pushing,” Trump said, adding that Netanyahu is a “very talented guy… (who has) never been pushed before.”“I didn’t like certain things that he did, and you saw what I did about that,” Trump added.Netanyahu is facing trial in three corruption cases, charged with fraud and breach of trust in Cases 1000 and 2000, and with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in Case 4000.The prime minister has denied any wrongdoing, claiming the allegations are part of a political plot orchestrated by the police and state prosecution.In the interview, Trump also called the Gaza ceasefire “not fragile” and warned that Hamas would be “eliminated” if it did not disarm. Asked how he would make that happen, he said that if he wanted Hamas to disarm, he could get them to do so “very quickly.” “If I want them to disarm, I’ll get them to disarm very quickly. They’ll be eliminated,” Trump said. While Trump’s 20-point plan calls for Hamas to disarm, the ceasefire agreement signed by Israel and Hamas in Egypt on October 9 focused solely on the initial IDF withdrawal, a hostage-prisoner exchange, and the delivery of humanitarian aid, as reported by the Times of Israel. When asked whether he had urged Netanyahu to apologize to Qatar, agree to a ceasefire in Gaza, or could persuade him to recognize a Palestinian state, Trump sidestepped the question, saying only that he has worked well with the “wartime prime minister.”“That’s the kind of person you needed in Israel at the time,” Trump said.
