Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was never interested in peace with the Palestinians, says former US President Donald Trump, according to a new book.
Trump was considered a close ally of Netanyahu, but according to the forthcoming book by Axios journalist Barak Ravid, Trump regretted that Netanyahu stuck sticks in the wheels of the peace process.
– I never think that Bibi would have an agreement, Trump says according to the book. Bibi is a nickname for the former prime minister.
– I had thought that the Palestinians were impossible and that the Israelis would do anything to achieve peace and an agreement. “I found that was not true,” Trump said.
He claims he stopped annexation
According to the book, Trump was frustrated that Netanyahu encouraged the peace plan the Americans were working on, and then created uncertainty about it.
Trump also claims that he personally stopped Israeli plans to annex and build settlements in new areas in the occupied West Bank.
– I got angry and I stopped it. Because it was really going too far, says Trump and adds that the Americans were not happy.
In 2017, Trump met with Palestinian Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas. He tells in the book that the two had a long conversation and that Abbas was “almost like a father”. The Palestinians were far more interested in peace, Trump believes.
Shelves Gantz
The former president also pays tribute to Benny Gantz, who challenged Netanyahu and is now defense minister in the broad coalition that came into place to oust the prime minister.
A peace agreement would have been far easier to put in place if Gantz had been in power, Trump believes.
According to several media outlets, Trump and Netanyahu have not spoken to each other since the latter moved out and congratulated Joe Biden on his victory in the US presidential election. “Fuck him,” Trump says in the book.
Barak Ravid interviewed Trump in April and July this year. The book is first released in Hebrew, before it is later published in English, among other languages.
Netanyahu was Israel’s prime minister until June this year, when he, like Trump, lost the election. Netanyahu has not commented on Trump’s allegations in the book.
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