Trump: I Pressured Netanyahu Towards a Gaza Agreement and Will Intervene in His Corruption Trial

SadaNews - US President Donald Trump acknowledged that he "had to press a little" on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a peace agreement in Gaza.

Trump added in an interview with the "60 Minutes" program on CBS News: "I did not like some of the things he (Netanyahu) did, and you saw what I did about that."

Trump affirmed to interviewer Norah O'Donnell that the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is "strong and not fragile," although it faced serious challenges.

He continued: "I will make Hamas disarm very quickly if I wanted to, and they will be eradicated..."

On Sunday, he told reporters aboard Air Force One that Hamas had returned the body of American-Israeli hostage Omar Neutra to Israel, along with the remains of two other Israeli hostages.

Trump spoke to Neutra's parents on Sunday, shortly after they received confirmation from the Israeli military regarding the return of the body.

The body of American-Israeli hostage Itai Chen remains held by Hamas, he being the last American national hostage in Gaza.

In the same interview, the US president announced that he would "intervene" in Netanyahu's corruption trial to "help him a little."

Trump has repeatedly commented on Netanyahu's ongoing trial, which was seen as an interference in the Israeli judiciary and the country's internal politics.

He said Netanyahu is "a very talented man," describing him as "the kind of leader Israel needs in wartime."

He continued to CBS: "I don’t think they are treating him well. He is on trial for some things, and I don’t think they are treating him well either. We will intervene in that to help him a little, because I think that is a great injustice."

Last October, Trump went off script during a speech before the Israeli Knesset, urging President Isaac Herzog to pardon Netanyahu, who is on trial for three corruption cases.

Trump said: "Cigars and champagne, who cares about this?" referring to the illicit gifts mentioned in one of the charges against the Israeli prime minister.

Later, Trump told reporters that it was Netanyahu who asked him to raise the issue in his speech.

The US president had previously called for the cancellation of Netanyahu's trial in a series of posts on the "Truth Social" platform last June.

Netanyahu is on trial for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in three separate cases.

The Israeli prime minister faces accusations of accepting gifts worth more than $200,000 from wealthy businessmen and granting regulatory benefits worth hundreds of millions of dollars to a communications mogul in exchange for favorable news coverage of him.