US President Donald Trump has declined to endorse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for another term ahead of the upcoming election. In an interview published on Thursday, he stopped short of directly backing his long-time ally.
Asked by Time magazine whether Netanyahu should get another term in the October 27 election, Trump said: “All I can say is that I’m not involved in politics now, but we’re very popular there.” Pressed again, he said: “No, my main goal is I want to help Israel with its protection.” In the interview, conducted on Monday, he avoided a direct endorsement.
Instead, Trump spoke about his own standing with the Israeli public, claiming his popularity there is about 99 percent because of his past policies.
Asked whether Washington could work more effectively with opposition candidate and former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, Trump said he had heard nothing bad about Eisenkot, but warned against writing off Netanyahu. “People have counted Bibi out many times, just as they counted me out many times. I wouldn’t underestimate Bibi,” he said.
Tensions between Trump and Netanyahu are thought to have grown in recent months over Iran and Israel’s continued attacks in Lebanon and Gaza.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report