After political appointments in the US capital Washington, Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu travels on to Florida. There he meets a man in election campaign mode.
At a joint meeting, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demonstrated unity - and opposed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Trump was particularly harsh about his potential opponent in the race for the White House: "I don't know how anyone who is Jewish could vote for her, but that's up to each individual. But in my opinion, she was definitely disrespectful to Israel."
Netanyahu reportedly asked Trump for the meeting in Florida. Netanyahu had previously been in Washington and spoke to the US Congress. He also met US President Joe Biden and his Vice President Harris. The two Democrats called on Netanyahu to do more to protect the suffering population in the Gaza Strip and to agree to an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of the hostages held by the Islamist Hamas. The relationship between Biden and Netanyahu has recently been frosty.
With regard to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Harris said after her meeting with Netanyahu: "We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot afford to become insensitive to the suffering, and I will not remain silent." In the conversation with Netanyahu, she expressed her "grave concern about the extent of human suffering in the Gaza Strip."
Trump warns of Third World War.
Trump now said that Harris was a "destroyer." US media also quoted the 78-year-old as saying: "If we win, it will be very easy. Everything will be sorted out, and very quickly. If we don't win, we will all end up with major wars in the Middle East and perhaps a Third World War." He warned that the world has never been so close to a Third World War as it is now. The blame lies with "incompetent people" who are running the country. Trump regularly warns of a Third World War in his speeches.
Netanyahu reportedly said at the meeting with Trump that he hoped that US Vice President Harris' comments would not make it difficult to reach a ceasefire agreement. "I hope we will come to an agreement. Time will tell. We are certainly very interested in it and we are working towards it," US media quoted the Israeli head of government as saying. Harris' team rejected criticism of her comments. The meeting between Harris and Netanyahu was "serious" and "collegial," a spokesman told CNN.
The meeting between Netanyahu and Trump on Friday was eagerly awaited. It was the first face-to-face meeting between the two men since Trump left the White House more than three years ago. Trump and Netanyahu were close allies during the Republican's term in office. Trump's administration recognized Israel's claim to the occupied Golan Heights as well as Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The US moved its embassy there. At the end of Trump's presidency, however, relations deteriorated. In recent years, Trump has called Netanyahu "ungrateful" and "disloyal."
Netanyahu's reception in Trump's private villa came right in the middle of the hot phase of the US election campaign. On Sunday, Biden withdrew from the presidential race. His deputy Harris is supported as a replacement candidate by Biden and many Democrats. Trump is the US Republican presidential candidate and wants to move back into the White House after the election on November 5th. He is always making headlines by receiving high-ranking state guests. The Republican recently met Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at his residence.
