Trump ‘asked Netanyahu’ to pull Israeli troops out of Syria and Lebanon: ‘They don’t want you there’

President Donald Trump told Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pull troops out of Syria and southern Lebanon, according to reports.

Israel currently occupies swathes of southern Lebanon and Syria despite international backlash, contributing to a deadlock in negotiations over a peace deal between the US and Iran.

Previous reports have suggested that Trump has had angry discussions with his Israeli ally, asking him to stop military action in Lebanon. He is alleged to have once called him “f***ing crazy”.

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In a call that took place a day after meeting with Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey last week, Trump is said to have told Netanyahu that he should redeploy his troops in both countries, American and Israeli officials told Axios.

“They don’t want you there. You should redeploy,” a US official told the publication.

“The Prime Minister, on his part, raised the need for security zones along Israel’s borders,” the prime minister’s office said in response.

Israeli and Lebanese diplomats met in Rome on Tuesday to discuss the implementation of a framework agreement that had been signed several weeks ago.

Israel had agreed to pull out of two “pilot zones” as part of the deal.

In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Trump was asked directly if he wanted Israeli troops to withdraw from southern Lebanon.

“Well, redeploy is another word because we’re getting along very well with Lebanon. Israel’s dealing with them very nicely. First time in many, many years. Lebanon has just been beaten up so badly and they’ve got Hezbollah over there. Southern Syria and from parts of Lebanon, yeah, it would be good to get out I think and I think you might see things get a little bit calmer because we have to focus our energy.”

He appeared to suggest that the Syrian president would do a better job of handling Hezbollah saying, “He would go in and take care of Hezbollah and he’d do it in a different way. He wouldn’t knock down buildings. I hated to see buildings knocked down.”

Asked if he believed al-Sharaa would be more precise than the Israelis he said: “I think he’d be more precise, yeah, and I can tell you I know he’d like to do it.” He added he was “thinking about” giving the leader the green light.

A US official told Axios: “President Trump has a strong relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and Israel has always been a great ally to the United States. There has been no greater friend to Israel and a fighter for peace than President Trump.”

The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.