Published 13:55 IST, February 9th 2020
Netanyahu urges Gantz to fire adviser who compared US Prez Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler
Netanyahu called upon Blue and White leader Benny Gantz on Saturday night to fire adviser Ronen Tzur for comparing US President Trump to Adolf Hitler
After hailing US President Donald Trump's Middle-East peace plan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pulling all stops to be in the recently acquitted President's good books. Netanyahu called upon Blue and White leader Benny Gantz on Saturday night to fire adviser Ronen Tzur for his comments comparing Trump to Hitler, according to international reports. He also reportedly told Gantz to distance himself from former adviser Joel Benenson too for making such similar comparisons.
Tzur's Trump-Hitler comparison
According to tweets from 2016, Tzur had written, "The book of the 21st century: Mein Trumpf.” Many social media users had pulled this tweet from March 13, 2016, of Tzur bashing the then-presidential candidate Trump. In another tweet dated December 11, 2016, Tzur had alluded to Trump's Russia ties writing - “It seems the United States President Putin appointed Trump to be State Secretary.”
Tzur apologises for comment
Tzur who was in Washington in January, along with Gantz, apologized for the comments. He tweeted on January 27 saying: "I see there’s an excitement for some of the cult members about some tweets from years ago. So to clarify: There were issues where I the little one thought differently from the president (not that it matters to anyone).
Trump's Middle East peace plan
This move to fire Tzur comes amid Trump announcing his Middle East plan alongside the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, calling it a win-win situation for both sides. He emphasised on the establishment of a two-state solution promising Palestinians a state of their own with a new capital in Abu Dis, a suburb just outside Jerusalem. According to the plan, Trump said that Jerusalem would be the undivided capital of Israel. Palestinians have already rejected the plan which was hatched without their presence in the meetings.
The Palestinian leaders, who were absent from the announcement had rejected the proposal even before its release. They claimed it to be a new Balfour Declaration that heavily favoured Israel and would deny them a viable independent state. The Organisation of Islamic countries has already supported the Palestinians reiterating that the solution to the Palestinian issue must be in accordance with international law.
Updated 13:55 IST, February 9th 2020