Former President Donald Trump welcomed Benjamin Netanyahu Friday to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida a day after the Israeli prime minister met with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington.
M. Trump told reporters that the nation is edging closer to World War III, but said that will all change if he is elected president.
“If we win, it will be very simple. It’s all going to work out and very quickly,” Mr. Trump said. “If we don’t we’re all going to end up with major wars in the Middle East and maybe a third world war.”
“You are closer to a third world war right now than at any time during the Second World War,” he said. “You’ve never been so close because you have incompetent people running our country.”
Video from the Israel government press office showed Mr. Trump greeting Mr. Netanyahiu and his wife at Mar-a-Lago on Friday and posing for a picture with his signature thumbs up.
Mr. Netanyahu gave Mr. Trump a photograph of a young Israel girl who he said is still being held captive in Gaza. The Israel leader said the girl’s grandfather wanted him to give it to Mr. Trump.
“We will get that taken care of,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Netanyahu’s back-to-back visits with Ms. Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, suggests he is hedging his bets ahead of the fall election.
Mr. Netanyahu delivered an address on Wednesday to a joint session of Congress.
The trip to the U.S. comes amid ongoing negotiations to end the Israel-Hammas war. The region has been riven with violence and fighting since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
Israeli officials said Hamas killed over 1,200 people in Israel and took over 250 people hostage. They believe there are 115 hostages still in Gaza, including dozens who are thought to be dead.
The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 39,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its military strikes.
Mr. Trump on Friday assured Mr. Netanyahu that he would push to strengthen peace in the region and fight against rising antisemitism on college campuses, according to a readout from Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign
Mr. Netanyahu thanked Mr. Trump for, among other things, approving the Abraham Accords that normalized relations between several Arab nations and Israel, moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and greenlighting the 2020 drone strike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani near Baghdad International.
A day earlier, Ms. Harris pressed Mr. Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire agreement that the Biden administration drafted.
“I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done,” Ms. Harris said after the meeting.
Ms. Harris met with Mr. Netanyahu for about an hour in the Old Executive Office Building.
“So far, everyone who has been calling for a ceasefire and to everyone who yearns for peace, I see you, and I hear you,” she said. “Let’s get the deal done so we can get a ceasefire to end the war.”
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
M. Trump told reporters that the nation is edging closer to World War III, but said that will all change if he is elected president.
“If we win, it will be very simple. It’s all going to work out and very quickly,” Mr. Trump said. “If we don’t we’re all going to end up with major wars in the Middle East and maybe a third world war.”
“You are closer to a third world war right now than at any time during the Second World War,” he said. “You’ve never been so close because you have incompetent people running our country.”
Video from the Israel government press office showed Mr. Trump greeting Mr. Netanyahiu and his wife at Mar-a-Lago on Friday and posing for a picture with his signature thumbs up.
Mr. Netanyahu gave Mr. Trump a photograph of a young Israel girl who he said is still being held captive in Gaza. The Israel leader said the girl’s grandfather wanted him to give it to Mr. Trump.
“We will get that taken care of,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Netanyahu’s back-to-back visits with Ms. Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, suggests he is hedging his bets ahead of the fall election.
Mr. Netanyahu delivered an address on Wednesday to a joint session of Congress.
The trip to the U.S. comes amid ongoing negotiations to end the Israel-Hammas war. The region has been riven with violence and fighting since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
Israeli officials said Hamas killed over 1,200 people in Israel and took over 250 people hostage. They believe there are 115 hostages still in Gaza, including dozens who are thought to be dead.
The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 39,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its military strikes.
Mr. Trump on Friday assured Mr. Netanyahu that he would push to strengthen peace in the region and fight against rising antisemitism on college campuses, according to a readout from Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign
Mr. Netanyahu thanked Mr. Trump for, among other things, approving the Abraham Accords that normalized relations between several Arab nations and Israel, moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and greenlighting the 2020 drone strike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani near Baghdad International.
A day earlier, Ms. Harris pressed Mr. Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire agreement that the Biden administration drafted.
“I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done,” Ms. Harris said after the meeting.
Ms. Harris met with Mr. Netanyahu for about an hour in the Old Executive Office Building.
“So far, everyone who has been calling for a ceasefire and to everyone who yearns for peace, I see you, and I hear you,” she said. “Let’s get the deal done so we can get a ceasefire to end the war.”
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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