United States President Donald Trump has declared that Israel would not exist without the US and his personal leadership, as tensions persist between Washington and Tel Aviv over the Iran conflict.
Trump made the remarks on Tuesday at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, amid friction between the two allies over efforts to sustain a ceasefire in the Middle East.
The US and Iran announced on Sunday that they had reached an agreement to end the regional war on all fronts, including Lebanon, and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that his country’s troops would remain in Lebanon despite the agreement.
“I want to make clear: We will remain in the security zones as long as required in order to defend our country,” Netanyahu said, noting that “the struggle has not ended”.
Israel carried out an air strike in a Beirut suburb shortly after Trump unveiled the deal with Iran.
Trump said he was angry with Netanyahu for complicating the situation.
Speaking further in France, the US president said too many people had been killed in Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah, describing the conflict as having dragged on “too long”.
“You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody, because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses, and they’re not all Hezbollah, that I can tell you,” the US president said.
“And I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah because, to be honest with you, I think they’re doing a better job of doing it.
“Without us, without the United States, there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel, because no other president was willing to do what I did. I’ve had a great relationship with Bibi, but now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.”
