Tag: Benjamin Netanyahu

Trump seethed at ‘ultimate betrayal’ after Netanyahu congratulated Biden on 2020 win: report

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Former President Donald Trump was reportedly enraged last year when then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted out congratulations to President Joe Biden on his victory in the 2020 election.

Forward reports that journalist Michael Wolff’s new book, titled “Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency,” claims that Trump felt personally betrayed by Netanyahu’s call, even though it is custom for American allies to congratulate incoming presidents on their victories.

“It was startling to aides, however much they were anticipating an eruption, that Trump’s wrath fell on Bibi Netanyahu,” Wolff writes, according to Forward. “There was his belief that he had singularly done more for Israel than any American president — and that therefore he was owed. And now sold out.” Continue reading.

Netanyahu is out as new Israeli government survives confidence vote

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Israel has a new prime minister for the first time since 2009 after a power-sharing government led by Naftali Bennett survived a confidence vote on Sunday. Bennett was sworn in as prime minister.

Why it matters: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister and the man around whom Israeli politics have revolved for a decade, will now become opposition leader. Bennett, a right-wing former Netanyahu protege, will lead the most ideologically diverse government in Israeli history.

  • The final vote was 60-59 with one abstention, the smallest possible majority for the new government. Continue reading.

Biden backs Gaza ceasefire for first time in call with Netanyahu

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President Biden expressed support for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in a call on Thursday evening with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said in a statement.

Why it matters: This is the first time since the beginning of the crisis last Monday that Biden or anyone in his administration has publicly backed a ceasefire. It will increase pressure on Israel to seek an end to the conflict, which Netanyahu has insisted will continue until Hamas’ ability to attack Israel is further degraded.

Between the lines: An Israeli official said the Biden administration hadn’t given Israel a deadline for reaching a ceasefire but had been stressing on Monday that it was reaching the end of its ability to hold back international pressure on Israel over the Gaza operation. Continue reading.

Assassination in Iran Could Limit Biden’s Options. Was That the Goal?

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The killing of Iran’s top nuclear scientist is likely to impede the country’s military ambitions. Its real purpose may have been to prevent the president-elect from resuming diplomacy with Tehran.

WASHINGTON — The assassination of the scientist who led Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon for the past two decades threatens to cripple President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s effort to revive the Iran nuclear deal before he can even begin his diplomacy with Tehran.

And that may well have been a main goal of the operation.

Intelligence officials say there is little doubt that Israel was behind the killing — it had all the hallmarks of a precisely timed operation by Mossad, the country’s spy agency. And the Israelis have done nothing to dispel that view. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long identified Iran as an existential threat, and named the assassinated scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, as national enemy No. 1, capable of building a weapon that could threaten a country of eight million in a single blast. Continue reading.

Trump’s smile falls from his face as his attempt to get a foreign leader to attack Biden backfires

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In a now-infamous phone call, President Donald Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to insert himself into American politics by announcing an investigation of his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden. That call and the scheme surrounding it led to Democrats impeach Trump, alleging that he had corruptly leveraged his office and congressionally approved funds to benefit his own political campaign.

Trump appeared to be taking a shot at similar gambit, if on a much smaller and less elaborate scale, on Friday during a televised call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

While discussing a new plan for Israel to normalize relations with Sudan on speakerphone in front of reporters, Trump tried to goad Netanyahu into attacking Biden. Continue reading.

Pence urged Israel not to target U.S. with coronavirus quarantine: “Go global”

Axios logoVice President Mike Pence personally asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to target Israel’s newly announced coronavirus quarantine at only visitors from the U.S., but to “go global,” senior Israeli officials tell me.

Why it matters: On Monday, Netanyahu announced a new policy of self-quarantine for a period of 14 days for anyone who enters Israel regardless of their country of origin — thus implementing Pence’s request, made during a call on Sunday. Israeli officials say Pence’s request significantly influenced Netanyahu’s decision.

Behind the scenes: Pence stressed to Netanyahu that he understands Israel’s concerns about a coronavirus outbreak, but said the Trump administration would not look favorably on a policy that only affected the U.S. and several European countries, like Italy. Continue reading.

Trump unveils Middle East peace plan with no Palestinian support

Plan offers route to Palestinian state but recognises Israeli settlements in West Bank

Donald Trump has unveiled his vision for Middle East peace in a White House launch that gifted Israel a wishlist of its long-held demands while promising Palestinians a potential “state”, but with severe restrictions.

Standing next to the smiling Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump announced details of the 181-page plan to cheers and applause. Palestinian leaders were absent from the launch, having pre-emptively rejected his proposal, citing flagrant bias.

“Today, Israel takes a big step towards peace,” Trump said on Tuesday. “I was not elected to do small things or shy away from big problems.” Continue reading.

Trump offers two-state peace plan for Israeli-Palestinian conflict amid skepticism

The Hill logoPresident Trump on Tuesday unveiled his long-awaited Middle East peace plan that was hailed by Israel and ripped by Palestinian leaders.

Trump unveiled his plan at the White House alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, just weeks before the Israeli leader is set to compete in a contentious third round of national elections and the same day he became the country’s first sitting prime minister to be formally indicted. The announcement also came amid Trump’s impeachment, briefly shifting the focus away from the seventh day of his trial in the Senate.

Shortly after the announcement, the Israeli government said it would vote this weekend on annexing 30 percent of the West Bank. Continue reading.

Netanyahu indicted for corruption, denounces “attempted coup”

Axios logoIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been indicted in all three corruption cases against him — for bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He has claimed the indictments are “an attempted coup” to topple him and his right-wing government.

Why it matters: This is the first time in Israeli history that a sitting prime minister has faced criminal charges. Israel’s attorney general sent the indictments to Netanyahu’s lawyers and to the speaker of the Knesset — Israel’s parliament — in order to begin the process of stripping him of his parliamentary immunity, the Justice Ministry said in a statement.

The backdrop: The most painful charge for Netanyahu stems from “Case 4000,” which concerns his and his wife’s relationship with Israel’s leading telecommunications tycoon.

  • According to a police statement, Netanyahu, who at the time was also the telecom minister, allegedly gave Shaul Elovitz regulatory benefits worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In return, Netanyahu and his wife were allegedly allowed to demand positive coverage from one of Israel’s major news websites, owned by Elovitz.
  • Flashback: Police recommended charges in two other bribery cases in February. One involves Netanyahu allegedly taking “gifts” worth $200,000 from businessmen in return for promoting their interests (Case 1000). The other is an alleged bribe deal between Netanyahu and Arnon Mozes, the publisher of Israel’s largest newspaper (Case 2000).

View the November 21 article by Barak Ravid from Israel’s Channel 13 news on the Axios website here.

Trump sends Netanyahu birthday letter calling him “one of my closest allies”

Axios logoPresident Trump sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday congratulating him on his 70th birthday and calling him “one of my closest allies,” shortly after Netanyahu announced he had failed to form a government for the second time in six months.

Why it matters: The warm contents of the letter stand in stark contrast to the cold shoulder Trump gave Netanyahu after the Israeli election, when he said the U.S. has relations “with Israel,” and not with Netanyahu. Trump and Netanyahu haven’t spoken on the phone in five weeks. Their last phone call was three days before the Sept. 17 elections, when Trump tweeted that he discussed with Netanyahu the possibility of a U.S.-Israel defense treaty.

  • Trump wrote in the letter: “There has never been a more productive time in the Israeli-American partnership and I know there are many more victories to come. You are one of my closest allies. I look forward to the continued success we will have working together.”
  • The president added in a handwritten comment beside his signature: “You are great!”

View the complete October 22 article by Barak David from Israel’s Channel 13 news on the Axios website here.