Amid the ongoing war with Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on a visit to the US. During this, he met former President Donald Trump. After the conversation, Trump said that his relationship with Netanyahu has always been warm. At the same time, Netanyahu expressed hope that the ceasefire talks in Gaza would move forward.
Before Trump, Netanyahu had met US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Netanyahu had reached Trump’s Florida bungalow Mar-a-Lago to meet him. During this, Trump congratulated Netanyahu and his wife Sara and criticized Kamala Harris.
Kamala Harris has criticized Trump whenever he met Israeli leaders after the operation in Gaza. Criticizing Kamala Harris during his meeting with Netanyahu, Trump said, ‘I think her comments were insulting.’ At the same time, Netanyahu said that his US visit will soon lead to an agreement on ceasefire. On this, Trump said that only time will tell.
While talking to the media, Trump also dismissed any tension with Netanyahu. Trump said that ‘we have a very good relationship.’ During this, Trump also mentioned the decision to shift the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and to withdraw from the international nuclear agreement with Iran during his presidential tenure.
There was some sourness in the relationship between the two when Netanyahu congratulated Biden on winning the 2020 presidential elections. At the same time, Trump has also been criticizing Israeli intelligence on several occasions in the past and has been claiming that this was the reason why Hamas was able to attack on 7 October.
However, it is believed that the White House race now seems to be a close contest between Kamala Harris and Trump, so global leaders like Netanyahu are now trying to maintain a balance by building relationships with Biden as well as Trump.
Harris had said- I will not remain silent
After meeting with Netanyahu this week, Kamala Harris made her stand clear on the Gaza war. She said, ‘I have made my concern clear about the serious humanitarian situation there. I will not remain silent.’ She said that Israel has the right to defend itself, but how it does it matters.
An Israeli official said that it should be hoped that Hamas does not misinterpret Kamala Harris’ statement and consider it as a growing distance between America and Israel, as this could hamper the ceasefire agreement.
When Netanyahu gave a speech in the US Congress on Wednesday, a dozen MPs of the Democratic Party boycotted it. In the speech, Netanyahu praised Biden for supporting Israel. However, in the same speech, he also praised Trump because he had decided to shift the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He also mentioned the Abraham Accord signed during Trump’s tenure. Under this agreement, Israel’s bilateral relations with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates could be normalized.
The Israel-Hamas war has been going on since October 7
The war between Israel and Hamas started on 7 October last year. On 7 October, Hamas fighters entered Israel and killed 1,200 civilians and took 250 people hostage. Even now 115 people are in the custody of Hamas. At the same time, Israel believes that 14 thousand fighters of Hamas and its allies have been killed in this war.