Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised President Trump in Saturday comments, calling him “the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House.”
“Israel has no better friend in America now under President Trump’s leadership, and America has no greater friend than Israel,” Netanyahu said on Fox News’s “Life, Liberty & Levin.”
Netanyahu, who has been in Washington for a state visit, praised Trump’s proposal that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the war-torn territory so the U.S. could take “ownership” of the area.
Trump’s brazen proposal came Tuesday as he addressed a news conference alongside Netanyahu at the White House.
“President Trump’s proposal is the first fresh idea in years, and it has the potential to change everything in Gaza,” Netanyahu said. “Otherwise, we can keep coming back to the same thing over and over. Same old, same old.”
In response to a question by host Mark Levin, Netanyahu said the pre-election polls that showed Trump was unpopular were “fake,” adding, “that’s exactly what you have in the fake polls in Israel.”
Netanyahu also told the host he gave Trump a gold-plated pager, a reference to Israel’s sophisticated September military operation, “because I know he likes initiative.”
“He likes surprises. He likes to surprise the world,” the Israeli PM continued. “Well, we surprised the world and we certainly surprise our enemies.”
Netanyahu further said that his plan is to “destroy Hamas,” and that there is “wide agreement on this.”
“I saw it on Capitol Hill and not just on the Republican side. I was pleased to see that,” he added.
