The Israeli Version of Trump’s Tense Call with Netanyahu

A source who participated in the overnight call between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump pushed back on an Axios report that Trump angrily told Netanyahu, “You’re f——ing crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your a——. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.”

According to the source, no such personal remarks were made, though the conversation was indeed tense and centered on disagreements over how both leaders publicly described their previous call.

Trump reportedly complained that Netanyahu’s social media posts suggested the war would continue at full intensity apart from avoiding strikes in Beirut, while Netanyahu argued that Trump’s posts created the impression Israel had agreed to stop fighting on all fronts.

The source said Trump did remark that Israel’s position is increasingly difficult to explain internationally and that it is generating hostility toward the country. The call reportedly ended with an understanding that Israel would refrain from striking Beirut’s Dahiyeh district, provided Israel is not attacked from Lebanese territory.