Trump reportedly told Netanyahu to end war in Gaza by inauguration day if re-elected

(LifeSiteNews) — In a meeting earlier this year between Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, the former president reportedly told Netanyahu that if he wins the upcoming presidential elections, the Israeli leader needs to wrap up his military efforts before he assumes office on January 20, 2025, a new report from the Times of Israel has revealed.

Netanyahu came to the U.S. in April at the behest of the Zionist Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who invited him to address a joint meeting of Congress. The move was criticized by anti-war conservatives and peace activists as Netanyahu had just escalated the conflict by issuing a strike on the city of Rafah, killing at least 78 civilians.  

Citing an un-named “former Trump administration official and an Israeli official,” the Times of Israel noted that during the July meeting, which was requested by Netanyahu himself, Trump gave him for the first time a deadline to conclude his military campaign, which has been condemned by multiple resolutions passed overwhelmingly at the United Nations.  

“Sources speaking to The Times of Israel are the first to reveal that a timeline was attached to that request,” reporter Jacob Magid writes.  

While encouraging news for supporters of a ceasefire, Magid’s report further adds that Trump may still “back ‘residual’ [Israeli military] activity in Gaza, so long as Jerusalem has officially ended the war.” 

Trump’s relationship with Netanyahu as well as the Zionist lobby in the U.S. has been a rather mixed affair over the past eight years. Previously, and even since his meeting with Netanyahu this summer, Trump has said he was and will be again the “most pro-Israel U.S. president,” suggesting he would continue to appease groups like the American Israeli Political Affairs Committee.  

At the same time, Trump has remarked on multiple occasions that the Israeli military needs to “finish the job.” And in March of this year, he told an Israeli newspaper that “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. And you have to get on to peace, to get on to a normal life for Israel, and for everybody else.”  

Democratic President Joe Biden has also had a frosty relationship with Netanyahu. Not only has Biden publicly speculated that Netanyahu is prolonging the war in Gaza to stay in power, but he dragged his feet on giving Israel weapons this summer out of fear they would end up being used on civilians, which infuriated Netanyahu. 

Current estimates place the Gaza death toll just north of 50,000, with many casualties being women and children. Latin Patriarchate Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa has repeatedly exposed the war crimes carried out by the Israeli Defense Force, which raided the Catholic Sacred Family school in July, killing four. What’s more, in Lebanon this month, Israeli forces fired on U.N. peacekeepers. Meanwhile, in Gaza this month, the Israeli military struck a school killing at least 27 people, including a child and seven women. 

Trump’s own relationship with Netanyahu has been rather lukewarm. Just two months into his presidency in 2017, Trump urged Netanyahu at a press conference to stop erecting settlements. “I’d like you to hold back … a little bit,” he said. In 2021, Trump accused Netanyahu of betraying him after the 2020 election. “There was no one who did more for Netanyahu than me. There was no one who did for Israel more than I did. And the first person to run to greet Joe Biden was Netanyahu,” he exclaimed. “I’ve not spoken to [Netanyahu] since. F**k him.” 

Furthermore, after the October 7 attack in Israel, Trump criticized Netanyahu for not being better prepared. During an interview with Jewish journalist Barak Ravid in 2021, Trump said that he felt Netanyahu was leading him along in peace negotiations, while issuing words of praise for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as being “almost like a father” figure with whom he “had a great” meeting.  

Whether Netanyahu’s war efforts will stop if Trump is re-elected is wholly unpredictable, especially in light of a massive $20 million donation given this month to the Trump team by arch-Zionist Miriam Adelson, which places her total monetary support for Trump this election cycle over $100 million. One of Adelson’s most controversial goals is to have Israel annex the West Bank, a move that Trump prevented Netanyahu from doing while he was president.  

Adelson had previously supported Florida Senator Marco Rubio and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley for president before reluctantly coming around to Trump.  

In April, Trump told TIME magazine that he would not rule out withholding financial aid to ensure the war in Gaza comes to an end. Cell phone footage at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event this summer also showed Trump telling one of the competitors that he will “stop the war.”