Former US President Donald Trump has welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Florida residence, the first meeting between the two men since Trump left the White House.
Netanyahu thanked Trump “for working to bring stability to the region through – among many historic achievements – the Abraham Accords, moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, eliminating Qasem Soleimani, ending the horrific Iran Nuclear Deal, as well as combating anti-Semitism in the U.S. and abroad,” the statement said.
Trump, for his part, expressed “solidarity” with Israel after the October 7 Hamas attack. The former president has vowed that “when he returns to the White House, he will do everything in his power to bring peace to the Middle East and to combat anti-Semitism that is spreading on college campuses across the United States.”
Harris als hot topic
Of course, Trump’s meeting with the Israeli prime minister couldn’t end without talking about Kamala Harris, his likely rival in the upcoming presidential election. And as usual, Trump couldn’t say much good about the current vice president.
Harris said Thursday that she “will not be silent” about the suffering in Gaza. “The images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third, fourth time. We cannot turn a blind eye to these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent,” Harris said. She called the two-state solution “the only path” that provides security for both Israelis and Palestinians, and reiterated her “unwavering commitment” to Israel.
Netanyahu hopes Harris’ comments won’t make it harder to reach a ceasefire deal. “As long as Hamas understands that Israel and the United States don’t disagree on much, the deal will come faster,” Netanyahu told reporters during a meeting with Trump. “And I hope those comments don’t change that.”
“I think her comments were disrespectful,” Trump responded in turn. “The comments were not very nice to Israel. I don’t know how anyone who is Jewish could vote for her, but that’s up to them,” he said.
Pro-Palestinian protesters take to the streets
Following the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu, many pro-Palestinian demonstrators have once again taken to the streets. They did so not far from Trump’s residence.