Trump Allegedly Urges Netanyahu Against Cease-Fire to Undermine Harris

Former President Donald Trump, despite no longer holding office, has reportedly been engaging with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding Israel’s ongoing conflict in Gaza. Rather than advocating for peace, Trump has allegedly encouraged Netanyahu to avoid agreeing to a cease-fire, fearing it could boost Vice President Kamala Harris’s chances in the upcoming election, as reported by The New Republic.

During a PBS broadcast, anchor Judy Woodruff suggested that Trump had been in contact with Netanyahu, urging him not to pursue a cease-fire deal as it might strengthen Harris’s presidential campaign. “The reporting is that former President Trump is on the phone with the Prime Minister of Israel, urging him not to cut a deal right now, because it’s believed that would help the Harris campaign,” Woodruff stated. The details of these conversations remain unclear, and it is uncertain if Woodruff referred to a new report or an earlier story from Axios, which cited two U.S. sources claiming that Trump and Netanyahu had spoken about Gaza cease-fire negotiations.

In response to the allegations, both Netanyahu’s office and Trump have denied any such discussions. However, Trump admitted during a recent press conference in New Jersey that he had advised Netanyahu to resolve the conflict swiftly. “I did encourage him to get this over with. You want to get it over with fast. Have victory, get your victory, and get it over with. It has to stop; the killing has to stop,” Trump stated. Despite this, he expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of cease-fires.

President Joe Biden, during his address at the Democratic National Convention, reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to providing humanitarian aid to Gaza and working towards peace in the Middle East. He emphasized the importance of securing a cease-fire and ending the ongoing conflict. The president also acknowledged the more than 3,500 protesters in Chicago who demanded an immediate cease-fire, recognizing that their concerns were valid.

The conflict in Gaza, which has claimed over 40,000 Palestinian lives in the last 10 months, continues to draw global attention and condemnation. Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha, who fled Gaza in December, described the dire conditions in the southern part of the region. In a recent post, Abu Toha highlighted the overcrowded conditions faced by 1.8 million people crammed into a 14-square-mile area with limited access to water, electricity, food, and medical care. He expressed frustration over the continued funding of the conflict by governments, questioning their inability to stop the violence.
______________________

UPDATE: August 21, 2:50 PM EDT

Judy Woodruff has issued a clarification regarding her remarks on PBS News about the reported discussions between former President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concerning the Gaza conflict. In a tweet, Woodruff stated that her comments were based on reports she had read from Axios and Reuters, rather than her own original reporting. She acknowledged that she repeated the story without being aware that both Trump and Netanyahu had denied the reports. Woodruff apologized for the mistake, emphasizing that it was not her intention to mislead viewers.

Judy Woodruff’s tweet: “I want to clarify my remarks on the PBS News special on Monday night about the ongoing cease fire talks in the Middle East. As I said, this was not based on my original reporting; I was referring to reports I had read, in Axios and Reuters, about former President Trump having spoken to the Israeli Prime Minister. In the live TV moment, I repeated the story because I hadn’t seen later reporting that both sides denied it. This was a mistake and I apologize for it.”