US President Donald Trump has once again severely rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A heated exchange of words took place between the two leaders during a phone conversation regarding Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon. This marks yet another such incident since the outbreak of the conflict involving Iran. Netanyahu shares a long-standing, close relationship with Trump; however, facing mounting pressure both domestically and globally following the onset of the Iran conflict, Trump appears to be turning his back on Netanyahu. Trump was infuriated after Israel repeatedly violated the ceasefire in Lebanon to launch successive attacks, as this caused Iran to dig in its heels regarding the peace agreement. During the phone call, Trump reportedly called Netanyahu “crazy.”
At the same time, he also labeled the Israeli Prime Minister “ungrateful.” This report was published by the online news outlet Axios. Citing US officials, a third source revealed that Trump attempted to dissuade Israel from launching attacks on Beirut during the conversation. Trump warned that conducting further attacks on the Lebanese capital would only serve to further isolate Israel on the global stage. During the exchange, Trump also claimed to have saved Netanyahu from imprisonment—a reference to the ongoing corruption trials facing Netanyahu in Israel. Trump reportedly said, “You are absolutely crazy. If it weren’t for me, you would be in jail right now. Everyone hates you now. And everyone hates Israel because of all this.”
Losing his temper, Trump demanded, “What exactly are you doing?” Prior to the phone call, Trump had been informed that Hezbollah had launched an attack on Tel Aviv, to which Israel responded with defensive strikes. However, Trump appears to believe that Israel is unnecessarily escalating military tensions.
