Herzog praises Trump speech, warns Netanyahu failing to build regional coalition

Israel’s opposition head MK Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union) responds with glowing praise of Trump’s speech to the Muslim world.

“President Trump has laid the foundations for a dramatic regional effort,” Herzog says, “an effort that I believe has immense potential and that I have supported and worked for for a long time.”

He adds: “There is a security infrastructure in place and a shared regional interest in forging a coalition of moderates. I call on the prime minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] to join this regional coalition, and obviously renewing the negotiations with the Palestinians is a condition to forging this regional coalition which Israel is a part of.

“This is a time for leadership. We must not allow the prime minister to continue to miss this opportunity because of his fear of [Jewish Home leader Naftali] Bennett and dread of [Likud hawk Culture Minister Miri] Regev.”

Within Israel, too, “there is a large political bloc that backs taking advantage of this rare opportunity in the Middle East.”

Herzog, now in a frenetic leadership primary in his Labor Party, continues: “I intend to create cooperation across party lines to prevent Netanyahu from establishing a de facto binational state.”