US President Donald Trump on Tuesday highlighted Washington’s support for Tel Aviv and claimed that “there would have been no Israel without me.”
The Republican leader criticised the Israeli military’s campaign against the Hezbollah militant group and said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must be “more responsible” on Lebanon.
Call for peace at the G7 Summit
Speaking to reporters in France at the G7 Summit, Trump said the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah has gone on for too long, and “too many people are being killed.”
Timing of Israeli strikes and the Iran peace deal
Referring to the recent strike by the Israeli military in Lebanon’s southern suburb, Trump suggested he was upset with it as the attack came shortly before the interim peace deal was announced between the US and Iran.
Criticism of military tactics in civilian areas
Trump said, “And you don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody. Because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses. And they’re not all Hezbollah, that I can tell you.”
The scale of the conflict and relationship with Netanyahu
The US President highlighted America’s support for Israel and said, “Without the US, there’d be no Israel,” adding Tel Aviv “would have been blown up a long time ago had I not gotten involved.”
Trump called the fighting in Lebanon a “minor war” and described Hezbollah as “the little pinprick out there that constantly rears its head,” but said the peace deal with Iran would survive even if Tel Aviv continues to strike Beirut.
He added that he hasn’t been “happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and Hezbollah.” However, when asked by reporters about his relationship with Netanyahu, Trump said “I’ve had a great relationship with Bibi, but now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.”
Upcoming US-Iran memorandum and economic implications
The development comes as Washington and Tehran are scheduled to sign a memorandum of understanding to extend the fragile ceasefire and end the conflict in West Asia.
The move could also reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which has been virtually blocked since the war broke out between US-Israel and Iran in February.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, and US President Donald Trump during a press conference. (File Photo) 
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