Netanyahu: Trump and I ‘have a relationship of partners’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushes back against the idea that Israel has lost its autonomy in strategic decision-making.

“In the US, they say that President [Donald]Trump does everything I ask, and in Israel, they say the opposite, that I do everything he asks,” he says in response to a question during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Neither is true.”

“We have a relationship of partners who know each other,” Netanyahu argues. “Many times, we agree; sometimes we don’t agree. That happens in the best families.”

Netanyahu stresses that Israel “has to take into account” what the US says.

“We appreciate it,” he says. “He entered into this [campaign] boldly; he brought the US military to fight with us against our common enemy. That’s a big deal. I respect it.”

“Just as it’s impossible to say we are totally ignoring what is happening in the world, or geopolitical considerations, you can’t say we are totally bound by these considerations,” Netanyahu continues, “because under my leadership, Israel has proven that it does major things and it leads many things.”

“We are initiating, we are operating, we are surprising, and we are also winning,” he says.