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Former President Donald Trump said the attacks on Israel by Hamas would “never have happened” if he were president.
“THE HORRIBLE ATTACK ON ISRAEL, MUCH LIKE THE ATTACK ON UKRAINE, WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED IF I WERE PRESIDENT - ZERO CHANCE,” he wrote Sunday on Truth Social.
The post comes after Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza, launched a terrorist assault on Israel. The group used a multi-pronged attack, shooting rockets and taking Israeli soldiers and civilians captive. Hundreds of Israelis and some Americans have died in the attack.
On Saturday, Mr. Trump blamed the attack on Israel on President Biden, saying that he messed with the peace efforts that the former president made. He is the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.
“These Hamas attacks are a disgrace and Israel has every right to defend itself with overwhelming force,” Mr. Trump said. “Sadly, American taxpayer dollars helped fund these attacks, which many reports are saying came from the Biden Administration. We brought so much peace to the Middle East through the Abraham Accords, only to see Biden whittle it away at a far more rapid pace than anyone thought possible. Here we go again.”
He was referring in part to the deal in September in which Iran released Americans who had been held there, and the U.S. unfroze $6 billion in Iranian assets.
In 2020, Mr. Trump hosted a signing ceremony for the Abraham Accords that was arranged by his administration. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was joined by the foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to sign a peace treaty between the nations.
At the time, Mr. Trump said in an interview with “Fox & Friends” that the efforts were part of a broader effort to get the Palestinians to negotiate a normalization deal.
Mr. Biden condemned the attacks Saturday and said that he would offer “all means of appropriate support” to Israel in a call with Mr. Netanyahu.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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