Clinton tells Israel TV 'ISIS prays to Allah for Trump victory'
Clinton said that Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump's positions on Israel vary from day to day, and for that reason Israelis should be extremely wary of him.
By HERB KEINONUpdated: SEPTEMBER 9, 2016 00:54Hillary Clinton addresses AIPAC in Washington DC(photo credit: screenshot)
Some problems are solvable while others have to be managed, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Thursday, when asked whether she would consider an overhaul of the US approach to the Mideast if she became president.Clinton termed the question as to whether it might be time to shift from crisis-solving to crisis-management a “profound” one. In an interview in New York with Channel 2’s Yonit Levy, Clinton also noted that each of the Israeli leaders her husband, Bill, worked with as president – Yitzhak Rabin, Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak – made concessions to the Palestinians.“Each made offers that were not accepted,” she said.“And then I watched as [Ariel] Sharon, [Ehud] Olmert and Netanyahu again reached out and tried.” She noted that assecretary of state she stood alongside Netanyahu in Jerusalem in 2009 when he announced a 10-month settlement freeze that she described as both unprecedented and real.She said the freeze provided a 10-month window to deal with some of the most critical issues, but that “there were problems on the Palestinian side, some of which were of their own making, and some of which were frankly caused by others, and the settlement freeze was not extended.”Clinton said Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s positions on Israel vary from day to day, and for that reason Israelis should be extremely wary of him.“He has said we should be neutral toward Israel on Monday, then on Tuesday he has said that he really is supportive of Israel,” Clinton said.“On Wednesday he might say that Israel should pay back the defense aid it has received over the years.”Trump’s comments, she said, have been as “uninformed” as they have been inconsistent.“The best I can tell is that his only experience [regarding Israel] is marching in the Fifth Avenue Israel Day Parade.”Clinton said Trump’s “understanding of the broader dangers in the region should alarm any Israeli, no matter where the person is on the political spectrum in Israel. Using nukes against Islamic State. Not caring whether other countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, get nuclear weapons. How does that in any way help Israel?” Furthermore, she said, Islamic radicals are praying to Allah for a Trump victory.Citing an article in Time magazine by Matthew Olsen, the former head of the US National Counterterrorism Center, Clinton said she was surprised how clear and compelling a case he made that Islamic State was “rooting for Donald Trump’s victory because Trump made Islam and Muslims part of his campaign.” Olsen, she said, basically argued that “the jihadists see this as a great gift. They are saying, ‘Please, Allah, make Trump president of America.’” Clinton’s remarks came in response to a question about whether she would use the term “war on radical Islam.”She said a judgment has been made, “based on a lot of research, that bringing Islam into the definition of our enemy actually serves the purpose of radical jihadists.”Clinton said she was not interested in giving “aid and comfort” to Islamic State’s “evil ambitions.”Regarding the Iranian nuclear deal, Clinton said she believes “putting a lid on Iran’s nuclear weapons program has made Israel safer, has made the region safer, prevented a nuclear arms race that would have included not only all the Gulf states, but maybe Egypt. The fact that we were able to reach an agreement on the nuclear program does not in any way excuse the behavior that Iran is still engaging in.”