Trump’s comments follow quiet criticism from Israel and public disapproval from some major Jewish groups that the pullout of troops will leave a vacuum in Syria that will be filled by Israel’s bitter enemy, Iran.
“WE TAKE A GREAT CARE TO ISRAEL”
“I spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I told Bibi, you know we give Israel $4.5 billion a year. And they are doing very well at defending themselves,” Trump told reporters Wednesday after a surprise visit to U.S. troops in Iraq.
“I’m the one that moved the embassy to Jerusalem. I was the one who was willing to do that. So that’s the way it is — we are going to take great care of Israel. Israel is going to be good. We give Israel 4.5 billion a year. And we give frankly a lot more than that if you look at the books. They’ve been doing a good job,” he also said.
Trump launched a full and accelerated pullout of the 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria last week, confirming the news in a tweet in which he wrote: “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.”