Bannon ‘not wild’ about Trump endorsing Netanyahu

Former White House adviser Steve Bannon on Monday said he’s “not wild” about President Trump endorsing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel’s election next week.

Trump on Sunday called the prime minister “Strong, Brave, and Brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition, including that coming from even Israel, itself,” adding that he represents “the kind of Partner that the United States of America is demanding of Israel.”

“An endorsement by President Trump that, as you can imagine, in the War Room, we were not wild about,” Bannon said on his “War Room” podcast. “He endorsed wholeheartedly Netanyahu over the weekend, and I take a very different take on Netanyahu. One of the things we’ve been pushing here is: where is the investigation of the Oct. 7 situation?”

Bannon referred to reporting by former Jerusalem Post editor-in-chief Yaakov Katz that accused Israel’s government of failing to respond to intelligence indicating Hamas would attack on Oct. 7, 2023. The subsequent attack killed around 1,200 Israelis and led to the country’s yearslong assault on the Gaza Strip.

“But as I said at the time, I said, ‘This thing’s so disturbing, when are we going to see an actual investigation by the Israeli government, or Israeli citizens with the government, or however you want to do it?'” Bannon continued.

He accused Netanyahu’s government of not allowing an investigation and said the U.S. should launch “a massive investigation of our own” into the events leading up to the Oct. 7 attack.

The New York Times and Israeli news outlet Haaretz reported last month that the Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed warned Netanyahu about a possible major attack on Israel before October 2023. Netanyahu denied Haaretz’s reporting and vowed on the social platform X to sue the outlet for “a malicious fabrication with clear political timing.”

Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire last October, but Israeli military strikes since the ceasefire have led to more Palestinians deaths in the last year. More than 74,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died since the start of the war, including after the ceasefire, according to the Hamas-led Gaza Ministry of Health.

Netanyahu is seeking an unprecedented seventh term as Israel’s prime minister, having served nonconsecutive terms as the country’s leader since 1996.

He has also faced allegations of corruption and was indicted on fraud and bribery charges in 2019, which has since gone to trial. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, accusing him, Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war in Gaza.

Netanyahu has denied the charges in connection with the corruption trial and has denied allegations made over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.