Netanyahu calls Britain “Islamist,” says European leaders are weak and accuses them of appeasing Islamist constituencies

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sharply criticized Britain and other European countries in an interview with Mark Levin, calling Britain “Islamist” and accusing European leaders of weakness and appeasement toward Islamist constituencies and what he called the “lunatic left.”

“Look at what they do in Islamist Britain now,” Netanyahu said. He said 3,000 people in Britain had been brought to court over social-media posts and that some had been jailed.

Netanyahu did not identify a source for the 3,000 figure. British government data does not provide a single official count of people prosecuted specifically for social-media posts, and arrests under communications laws cannot be equated with prosecutions or imprisonment.

Turning to Europe more broadly, Netanyahu said: “I really get pissed off with them. You don’t have to bend to the winds of fashion of Islamist constituencies and the lunatic left. Stand up. Be a leader. President Trump is a leader. Be a leader!”

“They’re not leaders,” he added. “They’re so weak and passive, and they’re basically trying to appease the worst fanatics in their realm.”

Netanyahu also accused European governments of criticizing Israel at the United Nations while privately seeking Israeli assistance on counterterrorism and other security matters.

“They say, ‘We lost the moral high ground,’” Netanyahu said. “No, no. The moral high ground is when you defend your people against monsters, and when you do so, trying to minimize civilian casualties.”

He also rejected descriptions of Israeli-controlled territory as “stolen land.”

“It’s our land. It’s our land. It’s been the land of Israel for thousands of years,” Netanyahu said. “People forget the facts of history.”

Netanyahu said Israel’s fight against Iran and Iran-aligned groups was also a defense of the United States and Western civilization.

“We’re defending ourselves against Iran and its monstrous offshoots, but in so doing, we’re also defending America, defending civilization,” he said. “Because these are barbarians and they want to go after you.”

Netanyahu described Israel as Washington’s strongest military ally, saying: “America has no greater ally than Israel. And in fact, if you look around the world, you have no fighting allies. That’s a fact.”

He nevertheless acknowledged the imbalance between the two countries. “We recognize that America is our senior partner,” Netanyahu said. “Nobody says Israel is a superpower. America is a superpower.”