Israel does not control Donald Trump, the country’s ambassador to the US has told GB News.
In an interview with Bev Turner on the Late Show Live, Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s US ambassador, discussed his country’s relationship with America, and accusations of a powerful “Jewish lobby”.
He said: “We don’t control the President. We never controlled any President. All of those accusations that say we have a powerful Jewish lobby that controls Washington… We don’t control things.
“We’re a partner, we’re a friend. We’re an ally, and allies work together, as we showed in Operation Rising Lion and Midnight Hammer to take out the nuclear weaponisation programme of Iran,”
American officials confirmed in June that the US “completely obliterated” Iran’s Fordow nuclear site using 12 massive 30,000-pound bunker busting bombs in Operation Midnight Hammer.
At the time, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said Mr Trump’s decision to drop the bombs would “change history”.
He had specifically requested American assistance to destroy the heavily fortified nuclear facility.
When asked about the current state of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Mr Leiter said: “It is fragile because we’re dealing with a ghoulish terrorist organisation that kills people and lies and creates havoc, chaos and destruction.”
Yechiel Leiter reiterated JD Vance’s previous statement that Israel does not control the US President
|
GETTY
On Tuesday, Mr Netanyahu ordered his military to immediately carry out “powerful strikes” on the Gaza strip.
He warned that Hamas was violating Mr Trump’s ceasefire by opening fire on Israeli forces – and was sending back “faked” hostage remains.
Mr Leiter added: “We’ve been at war with Hamas, not the people of Gaza, but with Hamas which is a 40,000 strong army of terrorists and that nobody else has had to confront.”
He said the Israeli takes every step to limit the number of civilian casualties but added that “in urban warfare, there’s always collateral damage”.
DONALD TRUMP ON ISRAEL – READ MORE:
Yechiel Leiter called JD Vance a ‘personal friend’ and a ‘friend of Israel’
|
GETTY
When asked by Bev about Israel’s relationship with the UK, Mr Leiter slated the Prime Minister’s decision to recognise the state of Palestine, adding: “One wonders what Sir Keir Starmer is thinking.”
In comparison, he said Mr Trump was “more levelheaded” for “brokering an agreement which actually forces the point that Hamas must be disarmed and Gaza demilitarised”.
Despite the Government making “a terrible decision”, Mr Leiter confirmed Israel and the UK remain allies in part due to a “strong bond between the peoples of Israel and Great Britain”.
However, he urged the Foreign Secretary to “walk back the absolute charade of announcing a Palestinian state”.
Yechiel Leiter (right) has been the Israeli ambassador to the US since January of this year
|
GETTY
He also pushed for Yvette Cooper to “hold Hamas’s feet to the fire” in her upcoming visit to Israel.
Ms Cooper is set to travel to the region at the end of next week.
The Foreign Office said she would “continued her drive for aid access, support for the UN and humanitarian NGOs, and action on reconstruction on a visit to the region at the end of the week”.
On Thursday, the UK pledged £4million to help a UN organisation clear landmines blocking the safe passage of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
