‘A lot of people knew’: Donald Trump blasts Benjamin Netanyahu over October 7

In a wide-ranging interview with Time magazine, the former president refused to rule out withholding military aid to Israel.

Donald Trump hosts Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. Picture: AFP

Benjamin Netanyahu is responsible for failing to stop the Hamas terrorist raids on October 7, ­Donald Trump has said, adding that “thousands and thousands of people” knew about the attacks before they happened.

Mr Trump, who was once a strong ally of the Israeli Prime Minister, described in an interview with Time magazine how his relationship with Mr Netanyahu had deteriorated, and he refused to rule out withholding military aid to Israel.

“October 7 should have never happened,” the presumptive ­Republican presidential nominee said of the attacks that killed about 1200 people.

“Everything was there to stop that. And a lot of people knew about it, you know, thousands and thousands of people knew about it, but Israel didn’t know about it, and I think he’s being blamed for that very strongly.”

In the days after the attacks Egyptian intelligence officials said that they had repeatedly warned the Israeli government that Hamas was planning “something big”. They claimed to have issued warnings directly to the Prime Minister’s office.

During his 2017-21 presidency, Mr Trump, 77, committed the US to many of the policies Mr Netanyahu had asked of Washington. He took America out of the Iran nuclear deal, recognised Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

However, Mr Trump ­explained in the interview that his once solid bond with Mr Netan­yahu was broken by the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, a commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, in January 2020.

“I had a bad experience with Bibi,” Mr Trump said, adding that the operation, at Baghdad’s airport, was supposed to have been a joint attack with the Israelis until Mr Netanyahu backed out. “That was something I never forgot.”

Despite his falling out with Mr Netanyahu, Mr Trump suggested that the US would come to Israel’s aid if it was again attacked by Iran. “If they attack Israel, yes, we would be there,” he said. He also said that he was increasingly sceptical about the possibility of a Palestinian state. “There was a time when I thought two-state could work,” he said. “Now I think two-state is going to be very, very tough.”

Mr Trump has previously expressed frustration with Israel’s conduct in the war, saying it needs to “get it over with”. Asked whether he would consider withholding military aid to Israel to push it towards winding down the conflict, he refused to give a clear answer.

The Times