Trump tells Israelis to get their act together
JERUSALEM - As President Donald Trump left Washington on Sunday for a three-day visit to Britain, he aired his frustrations that Israel is heading to a second general election less than two months after the last one, further roiling an already turbulent Israeli political scene.
“I mean, that came of the blue three days ago. So that’s all messed up,” Trump said in comments to reporters. “They ought to get their act together. I mean, Bibi got elected. Now, all of a sudden, they’re going to have to go through the process again until September?”
The president, who referred to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by his nickname, called the situation “ridiculous” and said he was “not happy about that.”
Trump has done little to hide the fact that he prefers Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister for a total of more than 13 years, to continue to lead the country.
Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party won the largest share of the vote in April 9 elections and appeared to have the clearest path to forming a coalition, leading to an expectation that he would form a new government and begin his fourth term as Israel’s prime minister.
But in Israel’s splintered parliamentary system, being able to form a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, Israel’s parliament, is all that matters, and Netanyahu ultimately failed in that task before the legal deadline expired.
Apparently unwilling to follow precedent by giving someone else the chance to form a coalition, the longtime leader’s political supporters pushed through a motion last week to dissolve the Knesset, propelling the country to a second round of elections on Sept. 17.
For Trump, the new elections make the future of his political ally, who is also battling corruption charges, even more uncertain. But they also leave Trump’s muchtouted peace plan in limbo.
But even some in the administration appear to hav e little hope that it can succeed at all. On Sunday, The Washington Post published an audio recording revealing that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had serious doubts about the prospects for the forthcoming peace plan.