With stunning disregard for international law and judicial sovereignty, President Donald Trump has demanded that Israel halt the corruption trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling the charges a “witch hunt” and warning that “the United States is not going to stand for this.”
“The US saved Israel. Now it’s time to save Bibi,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, in a statement that has been condemned globally as a blatant act of neo-imperial political interference.
Trump’s comments come as the world watches in horror while Gaza burns under Israeli bombs, with more than 58,400 Palestinians killed, most of them women and children, since October 2023. Rather than calling for restraint, the American president is instead demanding immunity for the man orchestrating the carnage, Netanyahu, who faces long-standing criminal indictments for bribery, fraud, and abuse of power.
Trump’s rhetoric is not just irresponsible, it’s a diplomatic weapon deployed to shield a genocidal regime and entrench US complicity in one of the worst humanitarian crises of the century.
Trump’s defense of Netanyahu exposes the rotting core of Western hypocrisy
By invoking Netanyahu’s leadership during war as justification for halting legal proceedings, Trump has aligned the full weight of the US presidency with a suspected war criminal, effectively declaring that mass murder absolves corruption.
According to Reuters, Trump accused Israeli prosecutors of being “radical leftists” and claimed they were “tearing the country apart.” But critics say this is a deliberate deflection tactic, borrowed from his own playbook, to delegitimize courts and promote unchecked authoritarianism.
“The message is simple,” said one analyst at Al Haq. “If you bomb enough Arab cities, steal enough land, and pledge loyalty to Washington, no court will ever touch you,not in Tel Aviv, not in The Hague.”
Israeli legal system bends under pressure as Netanyahu plays the ‘war card’
Though Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara insisted Israeli courts are “not subject to the opinions of foreign leaders,” it’s evident that Netanyahu’s government has long weaponized war to escape scrutiny.
The so-called “Save Bibi” campaign, now trending on social media, is a manufactured propaganda operation, pushed by Israel’s right-wing bloc and foreign allies, aimed at dismissing legal accountability as a luxury Israel cannot afford in wartime. But the reality is stark: Netanyahu uses war to avoid prison, just as Trump uses it to mask American complicity.
“Every airstrike on Rafah is not just about Gaza, it’s about sabotaging the courtroom,” said Noura Erakat, Palestinian-American human rights attorney. “This is lawfare turned on its head. The criminals are writing the script.”
Amnesty and UN experts slam Trump’s call as authoritarian and dangerous
Human rights groups have openly condemned Trump’s intervention. Amnesty International’s Secretary-General Agnes Callamard warned that language like “witch hunt” is “meant to intimidate and delegitimize legitimate legal proceedings,” while also undermining global norms.
US foreign policy no longer pretends to uphold justice, it funds impunity
As billions in US weapons and cash flood Israel, Washington has abandoned even the pretense of neutrality. Trump’s open meddling in Israel’s judiciary reveals what has long been true: the so-called rules-based order is a myth when applied to allies who commit atrocities.
Growing numbers of European diplomats now view the Biden administration’s silence and Trump’s belligerence as two sides of the same policy: indulge Israeli brutality, protect Netanyahu’s power, and silence any calls for accountability.
“Military support to Israel during an active genocide, while demanding legal immunity for its architect, is not foreign policy, it is sponsorship of apartheid and mass murder,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Director of DAWN.
