US President Donald Trump said that Washington will be “involved“ in the trial of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, because, according to him, the Israeli leader has been “unfairly treated“ by the judicial authorities. This was reported by the Times of Israel, referring to an interview by Trump on the CBS show “60 Minutes“, reports News.bg.
The US president stressed that the charges against Netanyahu – for bribery, fraud and breach of trust – are “unfair“, adding:
“We're going to step in to help him a little bit, because I think it's very unfair.“
Trump also said that he had already appealed to Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Netanyahu. He recalled that since returning to the White House in January, he had issued 59 pardons, including for participants in the Capitol riots of January 6, 2021.
During the interview, the journalist raised the question of whether Trump could convince Netanyahu to recognize a Palestinian state. The president responded evasively, noting that he had “pressed“ prime minister on various issues, including after the failed Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar in September.
“I had to push him a little bit… I did a great job. He's a very talented guy, but he's never been under pressure before,“ Trump said.
Regarding the Gaza truce, the US president described the ceasefire as “solid“ and reiterated that Hamas could be “eliminated immediately“ if it did not disarm. This is one of the conditions in his 20-point plan for the region, the details of which were not disclosed.
Trump also commented on the possibility of expanding the “Abraham Accords“, expressing doubt that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was sincere when he made recognition of a Palestinian state a condition for normalizing relations with Israel. However, the president predicted that Riyadh would eventually join the initiative.
In closing, Trump noted that the threat of a nuclear Iran was a deterrent for some countries in the region, but added that recent strikes on Iran's nuclear program "have significantly weakened Tehran."