Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that his country enjoys “tremendous” support in India, in response to claims by US Vice President J.D. Vance who said that the United States is Israel’s “only strong ally.”
In an interview with Fox News“We have some other friends, like a little country called India, you know, 1.4 billion people, and oh boy, do we have tremendous support there,” Netanyahu said.
The Israeli Prime Minister also said that his country is getting tremendous support from India on Facebook. “You know, I have this thing on Facebook, and I have overwhelming support there. And I probably have many others,” Netanyahu said.
India and Israel have a good relationship, as do Netanyahu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier this year, the Israeli Prime Minister referred to his Indian counterpart as a “personal friend” and described India as a “global power.”
Prime Minister Modi paid a state visit to Israel in February and said that India stands with Israel “firmly and with full conviction.” This was two days before Israel and the United States launched a surprise attack on Iran, which later developed into an all-out war.
Vance’s “one powerful ally” claim.
Netanyahu’s latest comments on India came a day after Vance rebuked Israel after reports emerged of criticism of President Donald Trump’s deal to end the Iran war from within Netanyahu’s government.
“Donald Trump is the only head of state in the world who sympathizes with the State of Israel at this moment in time,” Vance said during a press conference, adding: “If I were in the government of the Israeli government, I would probably not attack the only strong ally I have left, anywhere in the entire world.”
Vance also said that most of the weapons protecting Israel over the past three months were made by the United States and paid for with American tax dollars.
In response to Vance’s statements, Netanyahu said Fox News Although he respects the US Vice President, he does not agree with everything he says. The Israeli Prime Minister also claimed that countries are reaching out to him and asking: “Can you teach us some of the things your army does, and can we get some of your expertise in artificial intelligence and cyber?”
The Iran war and the “rift” between the United States and Israel
Reports of a dispute between the Israeli and American administrations, and Netanyahu and Trump, are not new. Since the start of discussions on resolving the conflict with Iran, reports have indicated a difference of opinion between the two leaderships.
Last month, an Axios report said Trump referred to Netanyahu as the “Mad King” and accused him of being ungrateful. The report appeared at a time when peace negotiations between the United States and Iran were underway, yet Israel continued to bomb Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
Read also: “Crazy” Netanyahu is now a “warrior prime minister” for Trump, but Israel may be planning to spoil the Iran deal
Recently, Trump told Axios that the Israeli prime minister knows “who the president is.” “We get along very well,” Trump said in a brief phone interview. “(Netanyahu) knows who the leader is.” Trump has publicly criticized Netanyahu in recent weeks after Israel’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon threatened peace talks with Iran.
