After a rambunctious week, the US and Israel must close ranks, rebuild mutual trust, and drop all the failed misconceptions of the past
Judging from a series of jarring public statements US officials have made, starting with President Trump and then the caravan of top officials he dispatched to Israel last week, America, too, is parroting the same long-standing misconceptions from previous administrations that are more likely to hinder peace instead of promoting it.
Let’s review the statements chronologically, evaluate the harm they caused, and suggest more constructive ways of thinking.
Shortly after the 20 living hostages returned safely, Hamas violated the ceasefire, attacking an IDF position in Gaza and killing two soldiers. The IDF held Hamas directly responsible for the attack. President Trump identified the perpetrators as a “rebel force,” telling the White House press corps: “As you know, they’ve been quite rambunctious. They’ve been doing some shooting, and we think maybe the leadership isn’t involved in that.”
That same night, 60 Minutes aired an interview with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, criticizing Israel’s attack on Hamas’s top leadership in Qatar.
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