Trump tells Israel to "finish up" war on Gaza and issues surprising warning

Tel Aviv, Israel - Donald Trump warned Israel in an interview published Monday that it was losing support over the war in Gaza, reiterating his call to "finish it up".

Donald Trump, whose pro-Israeli policies as US president led made him a hated figure among Palestinians, urged Israel to "finish up" its war on Gaza.
Donald Trump, whose pro-Israeli policies as US president led made him a hated figure among Palestinians, urged Israel to "finish up" its war on Gaza.  © Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP

The comments from Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee to take on President Joe Biden in November's US election, came as Washington abstained at a UN Security Council vote calling for an immediate ceasefire in Israel's war on Gaza.

"You have to finish up your war. To finish it up. You gotta get it done," Trump told the right-wing Israel Hayom newspaper in an interview recorded over the weekend.

"And I will say, Israel has to be very careful, because you're losing a lot of the world, you're losing a lot of support, you have to finish up, you have to get the job done."

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Trump frequently touts himself as a devoted ally of Israel, pointing to his unilateral decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, which sparked global condemnation.

East Jerusalem, which Israel has illegally annexed, is claimed by Palestinians as their future capital.

Trump worries about optics

Trump told Israel Hayom he would have responded to Hamas's attack "very much the same way" Israel did – a brutal assault that has reportedly killed over 32,000 Palestinians and left Gaza on the brink of famine – but expressed concern about the optics of a war in which Israeli strikes have left much of Gaza in ruins.

"I think that's one of the reasons that there has been a lot of kickback," Trump said, arguing the Israeli military should not have released footage of its actions, which have drawn accusations of war crimes and genocide.

"If people didn't see that, every single night I've watched every single one of those. And I think Israel wanted to show that it's tough, but sometimes you shouldn't be doing that."

Cover photo: Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP

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