Wall Street Journal: Is the disagreement between Trump and Netanyahu a media stunt?
The Wall Street Journal reported, citing several American officials, that the US president had told his aides that the Israeli prime minister was more insistent on using the military option than negotiating a ceasefire.
According to these sources, Trump’s frustration peaked after Israel targeted the Hamas negotiating team in Qatar, an action that Trump believes has effectively destroyed the talks. The US president has even accused Netanyahu of playing with him.
In contrast, a senior Israeli official, in an interview with the newspaper, described reports of strained relations between the two sides as fake news and emphasized that the relationship between Netanyahu and Trump is excellent and that the foundations of cooperation between Washington and Tel Aviv are based on shared values and interests.
A former spokesman for Netanyahu’s office also described the news of the disagreement between Trump and Netanyahu as a calculated media scenario that pursues strategic goals.
According to IRNA, the Axios website previously reported, citing three Israeli officials familiar with Tel Aviv’s attack on Qatar, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed Donald Trump of the matter before attacking Hamas leaders in Qatar.
This is while the White House claimed that it only learned of the attack after the missiles were fired, and as a result, Trump did not have the opportunity to oppose it. Still, seven Israeli officials told the Axios website that the White House knew about it in advance, even if the time to prevent the attack was minimal.
In response to the question of whether Israel had informed him in advance, Trump claimed that he did not know. He has publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the attack because Qatar is a key ally of the United States.
On Tuesday evening, September 8, Israeli aircraft violated Qatari airspace and bombed targets in the country’s capital, Doha.