U.S. President Donald Trump cursed and shouted at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call in September last year amid negotiations over a U.S.-brokered Gaza cease-fire deal, telling him that “everybody’s sick of you, Bibi,” according to a new book by New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.
The book, “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump”, describes a tense call during the UN General Assembly period in which Trump, speaking with Netanyahu, Jared Kushner and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, pushed the Israeli leader to accept what later became a 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza.
According to the account, Trump told Netanyahu, “All the Jews are sick of you. Even the two Jews on this call are sick of you,” in a reference to Kushner and Witkoff, who were leading negotiations at the time.
The authors report that the confrontation came after weeks of friction between the sides, including anger in the White House over an Israeli strike in Doha targeting Hamas leaders, which reportedly derailed coordination with Qatar and prompted Kushner to describe Israeli actions as “crazy.”
Kushner and Witkoff also reportedly accused Netanyahu adviser Ron Dermer of misleading them during earlier talks in Miami, further escalating tensions as Washington and Arab mediators worked on a post-war framework for Gaza.
The book says Trump ultimately forced the plan forward in the call, warning Netanyahu that he could not withdraw from the agreement and insisting the proposal was “a great deal for Israel.” Netanyahu reportedly agreed, and the deal was later announced publicly at a joint appearance.
