Former White House adviser Steve Bannon said Monday that he’s “not wild” about President Trump throwing his support behind Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel’s election next week.
On Sunday, Trump praised the prime minister as “Strong, Brave, and Brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition, including that coming from even Israel, itself,” and said Netanyahu represents “the kind of Partner that the United States of America is demanding of Israel.”
Bannon pushed back on his “War Room” podcast.
“An endorsement by President Trump that, as you can imagine, in the War Room, we were not wild about,” Bannon said. “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 pointed to reporting by Yaakov Katz, the former editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, which accused Israel’s government of failing to act on intelligence suggesting Hamas would attack on Oct. 7, 2023. That attack killed around 1,200 Israelis and set off Israel’s years-long 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 said.
The former Trump adviser accused Netanyahu’s government of blocking an investigation and argued the U.S. should launch “a massive investigation of our own” into what happened in the lead-up to the attack.
Last month, The New York Times and Israeli outlet Haaretz reported that Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed warned Netanyahu of a possible major attack on Israel before October 2023. Netanyahu denied Haaretz’s report and vowed on social media to sue the outlet over what he called “a malicious fabrication with clear political timing.”
Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire last October, but Israeli military strikes since then have led to more Palestinian deaths over the past year. More than 74,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died since the war began, including after the ceasefire, according to the Hamas-led Gaza Ministry of Health.
Netanyahu, who has served nonconsecutive terms as Israel’s leader since 1996, is now seeking an unprecedented seventh term as prime minister.
The Israeli leader has also faced corruption allegations. He was indicted on fraud and bribery charges in 2019, and the case has since gone to trial.
In addition, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, accusing him, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu has denied the charges in his corruption trial and has also denied the allegations made over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
