Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave an interview to Fox News’ Mark Levin, which aired on Saturday night, in which he summarized his visit to Washington, DC.
Netanyahu praised President Donald Trump, saying, “I think President Trump is the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House. I think he's not only making a tremendous change in the Israeli-American alliance, strengthening it beyond anything we've seen up to now, but also he's a great leader for America and for the world. And all of that comes together in this meeting between two great allies, America and Israel. Israel has no better friend than America, not under President Trump's leadership. And America has no greater friend than Israel. And it's a meeting of the minds and hearts.”
Netanyahu pointed out Trump’s achievements vis-a-vis Israel in his first term, and added, “So he was a great leader then. But he started now, the second term, he hit the tarmac. From the delivery of weapons that were being withheld to us, as we're fighting a seven-front war for our existence, against our common enemies. He went against antisemitism. He went against the ICC, this corrupt so-called international accord that targets America, targets Israel, targets democracies. It's a great beginning and a restart, a recalibration of our great alliance.”
Netanyahu noted that Israel dealt a devastating blow to Iran’s terror axis since October 7, 2023, but stated that Iran’s nuclear program is still an issue which he discussed with President Trump.
“Iran's quest for nuclear weapons, they cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons. We both agree on that. And we also have to finish off what remains of Hamas while we try to get all our hostages out. We agree on all that. And that's a point of agreement that makes us both a lot more powerful. When there's no daylight between an American president and an Israeli prime minister, that strengthens our hand. It shortens military conflicts. It allows us to achieve a quick victory and to change the Middle East. That's what we've been doing,” he said.
Netanyahu added, “But together with President Trump, we can change the course of history. We can get more peace agreements. We can have a broader and lasting peace. That's what President Trump and our partnership brings to the equation.”
The Prime Minister rejected claims by his opponents that he is the one standing in the way of the release of the hostages, saying, “That's false. It's the ones who are keeping them in those dungeons. These Hamas terrorists, it's not me.”
“At the beginning of the war, people said, including the most senior defense officials, they said, ‘We're not going to get any of these hostages out. We have to assume that that's not going to happen.’ I said, ‘No. We're going to fight Hamas, and at the same time, we're going to release the hostages.’ And that's essentially what we've been doing up to now. I never gave up on them. And by the end of next week, we'll probably have about 75% of the living hostages. They're also holding bodies as hostages. I mean, these are monsters. But we're going to get 75% of the living hostages out, and I intend to get all of them out.”
“We have three war aims in Gaza,” Netanyahu continued. “One, destroy Hamas' military and governing capabilities. Two, get all the hostages out. Three, make sure that Gaza never poses a threat to Israel again. And I'm committed to achieving all three.”