In an interview with Israel’s Channel 13, former US National Security Adviser says Israelis should be worried about US President Donald Trump winning a second term in office.
Bolton expresses concerns that Trump could shift policies and end up trying to grow close to Iran’s ayatollah regime, much as he did with North Korea, and just end up getting played.
Bolton, an outspoken proponent of regime change and military action against Iran, says Israel should not count on Trump — or Biden — backing it if it attacks Iran to stop its nuclear program.
John Bolton in Washington on September 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
He surmises Trump may pull support for West Bank annexation depending on how he is doing in the polls.
“If the government of Israel decided to go ahead on annexation without a statement by the US one way or the other, that is in my view the way they should go,” he says.
And he expresses doubt in the administration’s ability to foster any sort of meaningful peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.
“It’s not going to happen. It’s certainly not going to happen in the next four months,” he says. “If Trump is reelected what will he do then. Maybe he’ll just turn away from it because he wants the trade deal with China, and you can only do so many greatest deals in the history of the world in one administration.”
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