01/09/2025
Washington, Jan. 9: US President-elect Donald Trump has shared inflammatory video content describing Benjamin Netanyahu as a “deep, dark son of a bitch” just weeks after the Israeli leader claimed the two had a “very friendly, warm” discussion about hostage negotiations and Syria policy.
The president-elect posted the clip on Truth Social, featuring economist Jeffrey Sachs, who accuses Netanyahu of manipulating US foreign policy and orchestrating “endless wars” in the Middle East.
In the video, Sachs – speaking at a Cambridge Union event – alleges that Netanyahu has pursued a systematic strategy since 1995 to eliminate Hamas and Hezbollah by targeting their supporting governments in Iraq, Iran, and Syria. “[Netanyahu’s] gotten us into endless wars and because of the power of all of this in US politics, he’s gotten his way,” Sachs claims in the interview.
Trump’s motive for promoting the video remains unclear. The president-elect has a history of sharing clips and images critical of establishment policies in Washington. However, this repost comes amidst intensive diplomatic efforts by Egypt, Qatar, and the current US administration to negotiate a truce that would include hostage releases.
It also coincides with a time when Trump himself has declared there will be "hell to pay" if Hamas does not release hostages before he takes office. Currently, approximately 100 hostages remain in Gaza after 15 months of conflict, with two-thirds presumed alive.
During Trump’s first term, he delivered major diplomatic wins for Netanyahu, including recognising Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights in 2019 and supporting the Abraham Accords with Gulf states.
Over 45,000 Palestinians are believed to have been killed since the war began, with a majority of the 2.3 million residents of Gaza displaced and suffering under brutal winter conditions.-Agencies