Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that when he approached then President Donald Trump ahead of Operation Rising Lion, he did not ask for authorization, but simply informed him of Israel’s plan. Speaking at a Local Government Conference, Netanyahu said, “There are moments when you need to know how to tell even the president of the United States what we are about,” adding that Trump later joined the operation “toward the end” in what he called “a very important action.”
Netanyahu said Israel’s operations in Rising Lion and “Roaring Lion” prevented Iran from obtaining nuclear bombs aimed at destroying Israel and pushed back the “immediate threat” of thousands of ballistic missiles. He also reiterated, “As long as I am prime minister, we are keeping the security buffer in southern Lebanon.”
Addressing the debate over the Rafah incursion during the Gaza war, Netanyahu said he told both Presidents Biden and Trump, “Do not enter Rafah.” He said he respected Joe Biden, who had also visited Israel, but insisted, “We have no choice. We will enter, and if needed, we will fight with our fingernails.” Netanyahu added, “I do not wait for tyrants who announce they want to destroy us. I will not let that happen.”
His remarks came amid reports that Trump had sharply attacked and even cursed Netanyahu on several occasions. A new book published Tuesday in the United States by New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan says Trump shouted at Netanyahu in a phone call days before the public announcement of the deal to end the Gaza war last year. According to the book, Trump told him, “Everyone is sick of you, Bibi,” in a call that also included Jared Kushner and White House envoy Steve Witkoff.
