Trump: Israel would lose all US support

US President Donald Trump made statements regarding the ceasefire achieved in Gaza and developments in the Middle East in an interview with Time magazine. Responding to a question about the behind-the-scenes and unknown details of the ceasefire process in Gaza, Trump said that the ceasefire meant peace far beyond Gaza, across the entire Middle East, and that the new situation in the region was made possible by attacks on Iran.

Referring to Iran as a "bully," Trump said, "They can't bully now. They try to act that way, but nobody cares anymore. They are trying to survive. They are literally fighting for their lives. Not only that, we are imposing sanctions on them. I mean, they are not really fighting to do something in the nuclear field, they are fighting to survive. Believe me, they are very weak."

Trump stated, "In short, we took the bully out of the game. Everyone was great about it, and we signed the deal. If we hadn't taken the bully out of the game, we couldn't have signed the deal. Many Arab countries would never have done this."

"I STOPPED NETANYAHU"

When asked about his statements that Hamas would be destroyed if it did not comply with the agreement, Trump said, "Absolutely. They will face a big problem. A big problem."

Regarding the question of how Hamas would be forced to lay down its arms, Trump said, "If they don't, you have to go in. But they accepted it, right? The world was tired of our attacks. When I say 'we' here, I mean Israel and us. They didn't want the war. Anyway, it had gone too far. I told Bibi (Benjamin Netanyahu), 'Bibi, you can't fight the world. You can fight isolated wars, but the world is against you.' Israel is a very small place compared to the world."

Stating that if he had not stopped Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, he would have continued fighting, Trump said, "This could have gone on for years. I stopped him, and after I stopped him, everyone came together. It was a great thing. And he made a tactical mistake in Qatar. It was a terrible thing. Actually, I told the Emir of Qatar as well, this became one of the things that brought us all together. Because things had gotten so out of hand that this situation pushed everyone to do what they had to do."

When asked how he convinced Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to stop, Trump said, "He had to stop because otherwise the world would have stopped him. I could see what was happening."

"I WILL GO TO GAZA"

When asked if he had any plans to visit Gaza, Trump replied, "I will go. Yes, I will go." Trump said, "You know, we have a Peace Council initiative, and it has been established. They asked me to be the head of the council. Actually, believe me, it wasn't something I wanted to do, but the Peace Council will consist of very powerful members and will have a huge impact on the Middle East. The Middle East had never been brought together like this before."

When asked about his statement that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank and what kind of reaction Israel would face if it proceeded in that direction, Trump said, "That won't happen. It won't happen. Because I gave my word to the Arab countries. And something like that is not done now. We have great support from the Arabs behind us. If something like that happens, Israel will lose all US support."

Trump did not give a definitive answer to the question of whether Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would govern Gaza in the post-war period, and when asked who the leader of the Palestinians is in the current situation, he said, "They don't have a leader in the current situation. At least not a visible leader. Because every one of the leaders was shot and killed. It's not a very popular job."

"I WILL MAKE A DECISION ABOUT BARGHOUTI"

When asked about his support for demands to release Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian politician who favors a two-state solution, who was the leader of the Second Palestinian Intifada that began in 2000 and was arrested by the Israeli army in 2002 and sentenced to life imprisonment, Trump said, "I was asked this question exactly 15 minutes before you called. That was the exact question, and it is the question of the day for me. I will make a decision on this matter."

Regarding a question about how close a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia is after the ceasefire in Gaza, Trump said, "I think we are very close. I think Saudi Arabia will take the lead. I have great respect for the King, and as you know, we have great relations. I believe Saudi Arabia will lead the Abraham Accords."

When asked if he believes Saudi Arabia will join the Abraham Accords by the end of the year, Trump replied, "Yes, I believe so."

Trump also said that Israel's operation to simultaneously detonate the pagers of Hezbollah members was carried out with his knowledge. Trump said, "All those attacks took place with my direct knowledge. The attacks carried out by Israel, along with the pagers and everything else. Israel has always been very respectful to our country. They informed me of everything. Sometimes I said 'No,' and they respected that."