'Let Bibi go': Trump says US is 'not going to stand' for Netanyahu's prosecution
President Donald Trump lashed out at Israeli prosecutors over the corruption trial facing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the United States having given billions in aid to Israel is "not going to stand for this."
Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in Israel on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust – all of which he denies. The trial, which began in 2020, involves three criminal cases. He is scheduled to return for cross examination Monday after several delays over the COVID-19 pandemic, Israel's war with Hamas and other conflicts in the region.
"How is it possible that the Prime Minister of Israel can be forced to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING (Cigars, Bugs Bunny Doll, etc.). It is a POLITICAL WITCH HUNT, very similar to the Witch Hunt that I was forced to endure," Trump said on June 28 in a post on Truth Social.
Netanyahu thanked Trump in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Together, we will make the Middle East Great Again!" he said.
Israel's main opposition leader Yair Lapid criticised Trump's statement, saying he should not "intervene in a legal process of an independent state," the BBC reported.
Trump said the trial complicates negotiations with both Iran and Hamas. The United States targeted several nuclear sites in Iran after Israel launched an air war on June 13 and tensions erupted between the Middle Eastern nations. Hamas attacked Israel out of Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023 and is still holding hostages, while Israel has unleashed strikes on the strip for nearly two years.
"It was the United States of America that saved Israel, and now it is going to be the United States of America that saves Bibi Netanyahu,' Trump said in a separate post earlier in the week. "THIS TRAVESTY OF 'JUSTICE' CAN NOT BE ALLOWED!"
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says US is 'not going to stand' for Netanyahu's corruption trial
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