Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday evening that there was nothing wrong with Donald Trump‘s idea to displace Palestinians from Gaza after Trump’s proposal was widely criticized internationally.
“The actual idea of allowing Gazans who want to leave to leave. I mean, what’s wrong with that? They can leave, they can then come back, they can relocate and come back. But you have to rebuild Gaza,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News.
Netanyahu also informed Hannity of his view that “we are going to continue until we achieve victory over our enemies, who are also your enemies, because these people chant Death to America and Death to Israel. Our victory is your victory!”
Hannity asked Netanyahu if Trump is the best friend Israel has ever had in the White House.
He is. “It’s that simple,” Netanyahu replied, listing what he perceives as Trump’s achievements, namely recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, moving the US Embassy there, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, getting out of the “disastrous Iran deal,” and “brokered, and we worked together on this, the historic Abraham Accords,” before asking “you want more?” to Hannity, implying the list continues.
Netanyahu did continue praising Trump, stating that “look what he’s done in the last few days!” he released the ammunition Israel needs, took action against UNRWA “and other agencies that hate American and hate Israel,” and “yes, he’s the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House.”
Iran
Hannity then went on to ask Netanyahu about Iran and its position in the Middle East. He asked Netanyahu if the fact he is the first foreign leader to visit the White House since the start of Trump’s second term was due to an emergency meeting about the state of Iran, and how close they are to achieving nuclear weapon manufacturing capability.
Netanyahu did not directly answer the question, but went on to discuss Iran’s nuclear ambitions, stating that they probably would have reached nuclear weapon capability “10 years ago already if we hadn’t taken certain actions. We held them up but didn’t stop them completely.”
Middle East geopolitics
Hannity mentioned that it is likely in the best interests of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other Arab countries to solve issues with Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, and others, and that they would unite against Iranian hegemony and nuclear power.
Netanyahu responded to this, stating “I think its common knowledge that most Arab countries have shifted from Israel as their greatest enemy to Iran. They hide it, they don’t always say it, but they recognize that Israel is the one country in the Middle East that fought Iran.”
“Iran regularly says that their goal is not just to conquer the Jewish state, but the Middle East, and go beyond that, also blackmailing the US with nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu continued.
“In taking action against this, we are not only doing it for our own survival but for the interests of many countries in the region, the US too,” Netanyahu added. “You don’t want a world in which the Ayatollahs have nuclear weapons and the means with which to deliver them. That’s not going to produce peace, that’s going to produce the most horrible of wars. It has to be stopped.”
Gaza hostages
Hannity then asked Netanyahu if he believed all the hostages that were alive would be returned.
“We’ve released so far about 70%, more than that actually, of the alive hostages, and are committed to getting everyone out, both the living hostages and unfortunately also the dead hostages which Hamas also keep,” Netanyahu replied, “they’re that cruel, they’re so monstrous that they actually keep bodies too. It’s incredible.”
“I won’t talk here how we intend to do it, but it’s something that’s in my mind and also in the president’s mind,” he added.
All hell will break loose
Hannity asked Netanyahu about the importance of those words uttered by Trump while on the campaign trail.
“I think he used his influence, which is global, to achieve this release, and that working together…we are changing the Middle East,” Netanyahu stated.
“Israel has already done so in the last year,” Netanyahu continued. The Middle East “was basically an Iranian pawn” with Israel achieving this “in many ways single handily but with some American air defense support, which I appreciate, and some other help that I appreciate as well, but Trump’s entry into the White House gives enormous enormous backing to those who wish to see Iran’s aggression rolled back, Iran never having a nuclear weapon and that affects the entire region,” he added.
“It elevates the spirit of Israelis, it elevates the spirit of those who want to see a different Middle East, a prosperous and peaceful Middle East. I think it changes the global equation and it definitely changes the equation in the Middle East,” Netanyahu concluded.
Hannity ended the interview by stating, “I think you gotta take away their money that would mean take away their refineries take our their nuclear sites and you know that will prevent a potential modern-day holocaust which we cannot ever have happen” while Netanyahu nodded in agreement.
Jesus Christ is King
