US President Donald Trump said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "a good guy" but gets "too excited" at times, adding: "You don't have to knock down a building every single time." The remark, reported by Israel Hayom, follows Trump's repeated criticism of the scope of Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
President Donald Trump has added a new layer to his running commentary on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Lebanon campaign, telling Israel Hayom Wednesday evening that the premier is "a good guy" but gets "too excited" — specifically regarding bombing. "You don't have to knock down a building every single time," the president is quoted as saying.
The remark is the latest in a sequence of statements the president has made about the prime minister and the Lebanon campaign. As The Zioneer first reported Wednesday at 19:13 Jerusalem, Trump said in Paris that he had a "small disagreement" with Netanyahu and had urged him to be "gentler." An hour earlier, in a version sourced to security analyst Yair Goldblatt, Trump called Netanyahu a "great guy" but added Israel is the "small partner" and we are "the deciders." Those initial reports were corroborated at 19:13 by i24NEWS and then by a direct statement to Israeli media cited at 19:13 describing Netanyahu as "a good person" who "gets a little excited sometimes" — a formulation now echoed in this latest quotation.
The evolving language — from "great partner" and "small disagreement" to "good person" who "gets excited" and tonight's "good guy" who "gets too excited" — illustrates a president who continues to publicly press for a more surgical approach to Hezbollah targets. The framing builds on background The Zioneer reported on Tuesday, when Trump argued against targeting entire apartment buildings to eliminate individual operatives; and on a Monday report in which Prime Minister Netanyahu responded to a prior "crazy lunatic" remark by saying that even the best families have disagreements.
No response from the Prime Minister's Office or the White House has been reported at this hour.
7 developments
- StrongTrump describes Netanyahu as 'good guy' who 'gets too excited,' claims disagreement over Lebanon
- DevelopingTrump says Netanyahu is a 'very tough man'; Iran claims ceasefire includes Lebanon
- StrongNetanyahu tells Trump southern Lebanon strikes 'light casualties' so far, expects Hezbollah to hold fire
- StrongTrump says he hopes the Lebanon situation can be resolved, acknowledges Hezbollah
Source and signal
- Internal intake