Netanyahu Criticizes Trump Over Hezbollah-Like Threat Scenario

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the JNS conference in Jerusalem and criticized U.S. President Donald Trump by asking how America would react if a terrorist group like Hezbollah operated on one of its borders. He argued that if the United States faced thousands of terrorists on the other side of the border using drones and killing civilians, Washington would not simply accept it or call for a ceasefire.

Netanyahu said the United States would cross the border, establish a security zone, remove the threat, and protect its citizens. His remarks framed Israel's response to Hezbollah in Lebanon as the same kind of defensive action America would take in a comparable situation.

Earlier at the event, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also addressed tensions between Israel and the United States. Speaking with a smile, he said he had to make sure he had not been fired before arriving, because of his support for Israeli operations in Lebanon.

Huckabee warned about Iran's regime and said it cannot be trusted in any way. He said Iran sees harming Israel as only the first stage in a plan to destroy the United States, and claimed Iranians want to kill every American. He added that the American public does not understand the Iranian threat well enough and called Iran an existential danger that must be treated with utmost seriousness.