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In his address to the Israeli parliament on Monday, President Donald Trump called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be pardoned from his fraud and bribery charges.
Trump, who spoke for over an hour, joked with Netanyahu and said he wasn’t the “easiest” man to work with and suggested he could be “a little nicer” now that the war is over, before turning to Israeli President Isaac Herzog to issue his suggestion.
“Hey, I have an idea, Mr. President – why don’t you give him a pardon?” Trump said, prompting a standing ovation from many in the Knesset.
Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 on charges that included bribery, fraud and a breach of trust, though he has denied the accusations.
Trump appeared to wade into Israel’s tumultuous political arena on Monday when he said he would “always” support Jerusalem unless “somebody that’s really stupid gets into office and wants to do really bad things.”
“We don’t think we’re going to have that happen,” Trump added before throwing his support behind Netanyahu and Speaker of the knesset, Amir Ohana, who is a key figure in the prime minister’s flagging coalition.
“There’s only one prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who’s able to stand up. And he’s not easy – I want to tell you – he’s not the easiest guy to deal with, but that’s what makes him great,” Trump said.
But just moments prior, Trump appeared to suggest he also got along well with one of Netanyahu’s chief rivals, Opposition leader Yair Lapid, when he drew laughs by saying, “He’s a very nice opposition leader.”
“He’s a nice man, Bibi,” Trump said. “Now, you can be a little bit nicer because you’re not at war anymore, Bibi.”
Netanyahu’s political future remains unclear after he saw a significant drop in public support over his military strategy in the Gaza Strip and the more than two years it took to recover the hostages, some of whom remain in Gaza as the bodies of many of the deceased have yet to be returned.
The prime minister’s coalition also lost its majority in parliament earlier this year – drawing questions over whether an early election could be called.
Whether the return of the 20 living hostages on Monday will be enough to win back public support or prompt Netanyahu’s political rivals to agree to drop the 2019 charges remains unclear.
There appears to be at least some lingering frustration over Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza as two left-wing members of parliament, Aymen Odeh and Ofer Cassif – both of whom are a part of Israel’s opposition bloc – were expelled from the chamber for causing an apparent disturbance at the beginning of Trump’s address.
The officials held signs that read “Genocide” and “Recognize Palestine.”
But it is unclear how widely this is felt among the left in Israel as Lapid, leader of the opposition, had countered these claims during his comments ahead of Trump’s address when he said, “The truth is, there was no genocide, no intentional starvation.”
The Knesset Speaker had warned that swift action would be taken if anyone disrupted the session.
Trump joked at the speed of which the members were removed and said, “That was very efficient.”
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