JERUSALEM (AP) — President Donald Trump's call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial to be thrown out has plunged the American leader into one of Israel's most heated debates, unnerving some in its political class just days after they unanimously praised his strikes on Iran.
Trump's social media post condemning the trial as a "WITCH HUNT," and his vow that the United States will be the one who "saves" Netanyahu from serious corruption charges, came just two days after he called off an Israeli bombing raid in Iran to preserve a ceasefire.
Both were dramatic interventions in the affairs of an ally that previous U.S. administrations had always insisted was a sovereign nation that made its own decisions. Now the one leader nearly all Israelis seem to support has fully embraced the one who most divides them.
“With all due respect for Trump, he is not supposed to interfere in a legal process in an independent country," opposition leader Yair Lapid told Israeli media.
Trump says trial should be canceled
In an extended post on his Truth Social site, Trump condemned Netanyahu's trial in the same language that both he and Netanyahu have long used to describe their legal woes. Both contend they are the victims of witch hunts by hostile media, crooked law enforcement and political opponents.
“I was shocked to hear that the State of Israel, which has just had one of its Greatest Moments in History, and is strongly led by Bibi Netanyahu, is continuing its ridiculous Witch Hunt against their Great War Time Prime Minister!” Trump wrote, using a common nickname for Netanyahu.
“Bibi Netanyahu’s trial should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero, who has done so much for the State. ... 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 wrote.
Netanyahu's allies took to social media Thursday to praise Trump and a spokesperson from Netanyahu's Likud party translated the post into Hebrew.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, a former rival who once challenged Netanyahu over the corruption charges, only to join his Cabinet last year, said the trial was harming the state: "When the president of the United States calls for an annulment of the trial or for a pardon — can anyone say that he is wrong?”
Netanyahu himself said in a post addressed to Trump that he was “deeply moved by your heartfelt support for me and your incredible support for Israel and the Jewish people.”
Netanyahu is a polarizing figure in Israel
Netanyahu became the only sitting prime minister in Israeli history to be indicted when he was charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases after yearslong investigations accusing him of exchanging favors with wealthy political supporters.
He took the witness stand for the first time late last year and his cross-examination began earlier this month. Several hearings have been postponed as he has dealt with the wars and unrest stemming from Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu portrays himself as a towering statesman fighting for Israel's very survival and accuses his political opponents of trying to achieve in the courtroom what they failed to do at the ballot box during his nearly unbroken 16 years in power — the longest of any Israeli leader.
His critics accuse him of prolonging the war in Gaza and of leaving dozens of hostages languishing in Hamas captivity to cling to power and more effectively battle the allegations. Massive weekly protests against Netanyahu have been held for years.
Trump seen as Israel's greatest U.S. friend
Trump is seen by Netanyahu — and many Israelis — as the greatest friend they have ever had in the White House. He has lent unprecedented support to Israel's claims to territories seized in war, he brokered the Abraham Accords with four Arab nations in his first term and over the weekend he ordered direct strikes on Iran's nuclear program, which Israel views as an existential threat.
Still, even some staunch supporters of Netanyahu and Trump seemed a bit unnerved.
Simcha Rotman, a lawmaker from the far-right Religious Zionist party and one of the architects of Netanyahu's controversial judicial overhaul, wrote on X that Netanyahu's trial "may be an example of an accumulation of many faults" of the justice system.
“Still, it is not the place of the president of the United States to interfere in legal proceedings in Israel."
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Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel
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Follow AP's war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
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