WASHINGTON (AP) — Former national security adviser Robert O’Brien said Tuesday that he and two U.S. ambassadors who served in the Trump administration met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials from the country.
John Rakolta, who served under Trump as ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, and Ed McMullen, who served as ambassador to Switzerland, participated in the meeting. Reuters first reported the meeting.
Former President Donald Trump is the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee challenging the president Joe Biden‘s re-election. O’Brien informed the Biden administration of the trip, as is routine for former senior officials.
The meeting took place as relations between the United States and Israel reached a low point over Biden’s decision to suspend deliveries of heavy bombs. He has warned that other services could also be suspended if Israel undertakes a large-scale operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
However, on Monday both countries strongly condemned an attempt by the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor to obtain arrest warrants for Israeli officials in connection with the Gaza war. Biden said the US would stand with Israel.
The war in Gaza has been a challenge for both leaders, whose political futures are in jeopardy.
Trump has criticized Biden, accusing him of abandoning a key ally. And Biden also faces pro-Palestinian protests on campuses.
Netanyahu vowed to destroy Hamas after the October 7 rampage in southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and some 250 taken hostage. His critics have blamed him for the failures of October 7 and accused him of prolonging the war for his political survival.
The Trump administration advisers also met with Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid and other officials. ______
Gomez Licon reported from Miami.
