President Donald Trump on Monday dismissed a report published by Axios that claimed Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu had told him in advance that Israel was preparing to target Hamas officials in Qatar. The article alleged that Netanyahu spoke to Trump early Tuesday morning, right before the strike occurred.
When asked directly by a reporter whether Netanyahu had personally called to warn him about the operation, Trump answered, “No he didn’t.”
The reporter then pressed Trump on how he first became aware of the Israeli attack. He replied simply, “Same way you did.”
Later in the exchange, Trump made clear that Netanyahu “won’t be hitting Qatar again.”
On Sunday, Trump praised Qatar as a “great ally” and cautioned that Israel should “be careful” in the aftermath of the Doha strike aimed at Hamas leadership.
When questioned about what message he wished to convey to Netanyahu after the attack in Qatar, Trump said, “They have to be very, very careful. They have to do something about Hamas, but Qatar has been a great ally to the United States. A lot of people don’t know that.”
Trump continued, “I told the Emir, who I think is a wonderful person, actually, I said, ‘You need better public relations because you don’t really get the public relations.’”
He went on to explain, “People talk of [Qatar] so badly, and they shouldn’t be. Qatar has been a very great ally. So Israel and everybody else, we have to be careful. When we attack people, we have to be careful.”
Speaking to reporters the same day as the strike, Trump remarked that he was “not thrilled” about Israel’s action, though he also underscored that the ongoing mission to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza must remain a top priority.
{Matzav.com}
Once again, Trump seems to be talking out of both sides of his mouth. Kinda like Qatar. I wonder what REALLY went on behind the scenes. We may never know.