Trump Weighs In On Gaza Ahead Of November: "Firmly In Israel's Camp"
Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,
Former President Trump, the likely GOP candidate for the 2024 presidential election, said he supported Israel’s brutal, ongoing military operations in Gaza in an interview with "Fox & Friends" this week.
Trump agreed when a host described him as being "firmly in Israel’s camp." He was then asked if he was “on board” with the way the Israeli military was carrying out its campaign.
"You’ve got to finish the problem. You had a horrible invasion that took place, that would have never happened if I was president, by the way," Trump replied.
Trump did not elaborate on his position and only claimed the October 7 Hamas attack wouldn’t have happened if he was still president. When asked whether or not he would support a ceasefire in Gaza, Trump said, "Look, I hate seeing what’s happening. Again, it would have never happened. This attack on Israel and, likewise, Israel’s counter-attack, which is what it is, would never have happened if I was president."
During his time in office, Trump was extremely pro-Israel and carried out several policies to support Israeli claims to occupied land.
His administration recognized the Golan Heights as Israeli territory and declared that 'illegal Israeli settlements' in the West Bank do not violate international law.
Trump’s administration moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and unveiled a so-called "peace plan" that would have seen Israel annex large swathes of the West Bank. Trump also brokered the Abraham Accords, deals that resulted in Israel normalizing ties with the UAE and Bahrain.
Trump at one point in the interview charged that Biden is "abandoning" Israel...
Trump briefly acknowledges that he supports Israel's continued decimation of Gaza, before reverting to his standard deflection that nothing bad would've happened if he was still president. Trump also ridiculously agrees with the idea that Biden is "abandoning" Israel pic.twitter.com/k2W8gXE4N5
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) March 5, 2024
Trump has been relatively quiet on the campaign trail about the Israeli slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza, but he is expected to continue unconditional military support for Israel if he wins in November. So far, a reported nearly 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, and about two-thirds of the casualties are women and children.