Trump slams Israeli PM Netanyahu as ‘not prepared’ for Hamas attack

Former President Donald Trump said he would protect Israel from attack by Hamas as he blasted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the massive failure of his country’s intelligence services. Hundreds of terrorists poured out of the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning to unleash a killing spree that left at least 1,200 dead. Israel’s armed forces did not see the attack coming and were slow to respond.

On Wednesday night Trump said on The Brian Kilmeade Show: “We have to protect Israel. There is no choice. And we must do it. “He’s been hurt really bad because of what happened here. He wasn’t prepared. He was not prepared and Israel was not prepared. And under Trump, they shouldn’t be prepared.’ Hamas prepared for the attacks with a wave of deception. Key figures reportedly used communication channels they knew were being monitored by Israelis to indicate they were cooling the idea of ​​attacking Israel, and also called off border protests.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces were distracted by a flare-up of violence in the West Bank to the north. The militants then used drones to knock out remote-controlled surveillance systems and weapons in the first phase of their attack, allowing bulldozers to crash through security fences undetected. “Who would think their intelligence couldn’t figure this out?” Trump asked, before blaming Netanyahu. “Thousands of people participated. Thousands of people knew about it and let it slip away. That wasn’t good for him or anyone.”

His criticism comes at a time when world leaders and American politicians have gone out of their way to rally behind Israel as it buries its dead. Trump went even further with comments in a speech on Wednesday night, when he accused the country’s prime minister of betraying him at a critical moment in the fight with Iran.

The former president, who is the clear front-runner to win the Republican Party nomination in 2024, told supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida that his prayers were with Israel. But he couldn’t resist describing how he felt frustrated by Netanyahu during his tenure as he prepared to oust a top Iranian general in 2020. “Israel was going to do this with us, and it was being planned and worked on for months,” he said of the plot to assassinate General Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s Quds Force.

“We had everything ready to go, and the night before it happened, I got a call that Israel would not participate in this attack.” He said he was telling the story for the first time. “I will never forget that Bibi Netanyahu let us down,” he said, describing his disappointment. The Israeli government was quick to express its outrage.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi told Israel’s Channel 13 that it was “shameful that a man like him, a former US president, incites propaganda and spreads things that hurt the spirit of Israel’s fighters and its citizens,” according to the Associated Press. Trump also praised the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group as “very smart” for the way it launched attacks on Israel.

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