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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the assassination attempt on the former president and presumptive Republican nominee for the White House “is not only a heinous crime, it is also an attempt to assassinate American democracy.”
At the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday morning, Netanyahu said that he “would like to send him in my name, in the name of my wife, Sara, in the name of the ministers of the Israeli government and in the name of the entire people of Israel our best wishes for a speedy recovery and a return to full strength.”
Netanyahu earlier wrote that he and Sara were “shocked by the apparent attack on President Trump” and praying “for his safety and speedy recovery.”
Foreign Minister Israel Katz tweeted, “I am shocked by the shooting at the 45th President of the U.S. Donald Trump. I pray for his speedy recovery. Violence can never ever be part of politics.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid described the shooting as “greatly troubling and dangerous,” tweeting, “Political violence is an existential threat to democratic systems. I extend my wishes for a speedy recovery to the former president.”
Trump was rushed off stage—bleeding from his right ear—after being shot on Saturday at a political rally in Butler, Pa., north of Pittsburgh.
The president lifted his fist as Secret Service agents walked him off stage. Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger told AP that the shooter was dead and one attendee at the rally was killed.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, from Bethel Park, a southern suburb of Pittsburgh (Butler is a northern suburb), as the “subject involved” in the shooting.
“Wishing former President Trump a speedy recovery and strength following the attack on Saturday in Pennsylvania,” wrote Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the families affected by this event. We stand with the American people in condemning the violent attempt to shake their great democracy,” he added.
“God bless Trump,” Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir tweeted succinctly.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich tweeted, “Praying from the Holy Land for President Trump.”
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said the development was “the direct result of a campaign of incitement and delegitimization” against the Republican.
“In Israel, a shockingly identical campaign of incitement is being waged against Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu that is completely overlooked by the ombudsman and law enforcement agencies solely because it is coming from the ‘right’ direction. Disgrace,” added Chikli.
Former War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz said that “the U.S. is the most resilient democracy in the world because of the tenacity of the American people.”
He added, “I know they will undoubtedly overcome this difficult moment. I wish former President Trump a swift recovery and condemn any heinous acts of violence seeking to harm democracy and undermine stability and the rule of law.”
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