Former Netanyahu Spokesman: “Trump Wouldn’t Shed a Tear if Eisenkot Is Elected”

Nir Hefetz, a former spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was interviewed today, Tuesday, on 103FM and addressed comments by U.S. President Donald Trump about the upcoming elections in Israel, in which he said he was “wondering whether Bibi even wants to continue” running for another term as prime minister. According to Hefetz, there has been some change in the attitude toward the prime minister. Hefetz noted that “Trump’s inner circle has long thought that Netanyahu is a complete headache,” and added that during his time in the Prime Minister’s Office, dealings with American figures were conducted through a very limited number of people only. In his words, “In my time, the only people on the line in such conversations were Ron Dermer, who was either the political adviser or the ambassador to the United States, and sometimes whoever served as national security adviser, and sometimes both advisers were in the conversations. Sometimes it was two ears and four eyes, call it what you will.”

Later in the interview, Hefetz also addressed the possibility of a change in leadership in Israel and argued that the American president would not oppose it: “Trump would not shed a tear if Gadi Eisenkot were the Prime Minister of Israel in six months, to put it mildly, he would not shed a tear.”

Toward the end of the conversation, Hefetz was asked whether he sees a deterioration in relations between the leaders, and he answered yes. According to him, “Yes. I am sure of it. Quite some time ago I said I had identified the beginning of the deterioration in the relationship, on the same day that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner stood in Hostages Square after the deal. When Witkoff mentioned Netanyahu’s name, the crowd booed, I looked at their faces and they smiled.”