Israel holds a special place in America’s heart, says US ambassador in Turkey

Tom Barrack, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria, believes that the decision by several Western countries to recognize the statehood of Palestine is meaningless, as it does not contribute to peace in the Middle East. The American diplomat gave an interview to journalist Hadley Gamble, the full text of which was published by the Emirati publication The National.

Here are some highlights from the interview:

We subsidize Israel with $4-5 billion annually. Israel holds a special place in America’s heart.”

I don’t trust anyone in the Middle East, including Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu does not take borders into account—red, blue, or green. If he feels his borders or people are threatened, he will go wherever necessary and do whatever he deems required—end of story.”

Hezbollah has absolutely no incentive to lay down its weapons, especially when Israel attacks everyone; Israel attacks Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia.

We are arming the Lebanese army to disarm Hezbollah. Who else should they fight? We are not going to arm them to fight Israel, are we?