U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday lashed out at prosecutors in Israel over the corruption trial that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced, saying Washington, having given billions of dollars worth of aid to Israel, was not going to “stand for this”.
Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in Israel on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust – all of which he denies. The trial began in 2020 and involves three criminal cases.
On Friday, the court rejected a request by Netanyahu’s lawyers to delay his testimony for the next two weeks because of diplomatic and security matters following the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran this month.
He is due to take the stand on Monday for cross examination.
“It is INSANITY doing what the out-of-control prosecutors are doing to Bibi Netanyahu,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, adding that the judicial process was going to interfere with Netanyahu’s ability to conduct talks with Palestinian militants Hamas, and Iran.
A spokesperson for the Israeli prosecution declined to comment on Trump’s post.
Trump’s second post over the course of a few days defending Netanyahu and calling for the cancellation of the trial went a step further to tie Israel’s legal action to U.S. aid.
“The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar [sic] a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this,” Trump said.
Netanyahu “right now” was in the process of negotiating a deal with Hamas, Trump said, without giving further details. On Friday, the Republican president told reporters that he believes a ceasefire is close.
Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza under any deal to end the war, while Israel says it can only end it if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms.
Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has heightened in the wake of the U.S. and Israeli bombings of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
(Reuters)
