UPDATE - ‘Netanyahu let us down’: Trump criticizes Israeli premier, intelligence

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM TRUMP

By Busra Nur Cakmak

Former US President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli intelligence in a speech in Florida.

“You talk about the intelligence, or you talk about some of the things that went wrong over the last week, they’ve got to straighten it out because they’re fighting potentially a very big force. They’re fighting potentially, Iran,” Trump said, referring to the latest developments in the Middle East.

Accusing the Israeli leader of not helping the US assassinate top Iran commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020, Trump said: “So, we were disappointed by that, very disappointed, but we did the job ourselves. And it was absolute precision, magnificent, beautiful job, and then Bibi tried to take credit for it. That didn't make me feel too good. But that's all right.”

“I'll never forget that Bibi Netanyahu let us down,” the former US president said.

The former president also slammed Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, saying: “They have a national defense minister or somebody saying, ‘I hope Hezbollah doesn’t attack us from the north.’ So, the following morning, they attacked. If you listen to this jerk, you would attack from the north because he said, ‘That’s our weak spot.’”

Separately, in a video clip released from an interview with Fox News that will air on Thursday, Trump said that Israel was not prepared.

“He (Netanyahu) was not prepared. He was not prepared and Israel was not prepared. And under Trump, they wouldn’t have had to be prepared.”

In a dramatic escalation of Mideast tensions, Israeli forces have launched a sustained and forceful military campaign against the Gaza Strip, a response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.

The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air, which Hamas said was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.

In response to Hamas' actions, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip. Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.