Israel-Gaza war: Donald Trump slammed for calling Hezbollah ‘smart’, Netanyahu ‘not prepared’
- The White House described the ex-US president’s comments as ‘unhinged’, while an Israeli minister said it was ‘shameful’ and showed Trump could not be relied on
- Republican rivals, including DeSantis and Pence, criticised Trump for praising terrorists and attacking a US ally
Israel and the White House on Thursday condemned remarks by Donald Trump in which he praised the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over an attack by Palestinian Hamas militants that killed more than 1,300 people in Israel.
Trump, a former Republican president who is the front runner to become the party’s 2024 presidential nominee, called the Lebanese Hezbollah, a sworn enemy of Israel, “very smart” and accused Netanyahu of being “not prepared” for the Hamas attack, which also killed 22 Americans.
Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said Trump’s comments to supporters and in a television interview on Wednesday night showed he could not be relied on.
It is “shameful that a man like that, a former US president, abets propaganda and disseminates things that wound the spirit of Israel’s fighters and its citizens,” Karhi told Israel’s Channel 13.
White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates called Trump’s comments “dangerous and unhinged”.