Tel Aviv, Oct 6, (dpa/GNA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Sunday accused European leaders of showing weakness in dealing with Islamist terrorism and said, Europe had taken the wrong approach on the Middle East compared with US President Donald Trump.
Netanyahu, speaking to broadcaster Euronews, said some European countries had “caved in to terror,” pointing to the recent recognitions of a Palestinian state by several Western countries.
Britain and France, among other countries, said the move was intended to bolster the two-state solution, which aims for a peaceful coexistence of Israel and a future independent Palestinian state.
Netanyahu repeated his view that recognizing Palestinian statehood, was the “ultimate reward to Hamas after the greatest massacre against Jews since the Holocaust,” referring to the October 7, 2023 mass killings and abductions in southern Israel.
“That’s why Europe has essentially become irrelevant and displayed enormous weakness,” he said.
At another point, Netanyahu warned Europe about Islamist terrorists: “Don’t feed the crocodile because it will come after you after it devours Israel.”
Netanyahu contrasted European responses with what he called a more “realistic” peace plan by Trump that, in his view, takes a harder line on the “terrorist element.”
Top EU officials, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and national leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, have welcomed Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war.
On Monday, indirect talks are expected in Egypt between Israel and Hamas, focusing on a ceasefire and the release of remaining hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners as a first step.
GNA