Broadcaster Piers Morgan has said U.S. President Donald Trump is “the only one” with sufficient influence to end Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, in an exclusive interview with Arabian Business.
The outspoken television host, who has known Trump for many years, said he believes the president’s “patience is wearing thin” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I think that he’s the only one that has the muscle, militarily and financially, to pull the plug on Netanyahu and his government. And I think he should threaten to do that,” Morgan told Arabian Business.
“I think he should say, ‘you’ve got to get back to a ceasefire, you’ve got to get back to negotiating the release of the hostages’.”
Morgan, who previously defended Israel’s right to respond to the October 7 Hamas attacks, has grown increasingly critical of the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza, describing the current military campaign as “unjustified, unacceptable, probably illegal – and it needs to stop.”
His comments come as the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 50,500 Palestinians, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The broadcaster pointed to early 2025 as a turning point in his assessment, citing the humanitarian blockade as particularly concerning.
“It seemed to be a deliberate, appalling, systematic attempt to starve the Palestinian people. And I don’t think you can dress it up as anything else,” he said.
‘Let the journalists in’
Morgan reserved sharp criticism for Israel’s media restrictions, which have prevented international journalists from reporting inside Gaza.
“Let the journalists in. If you’ve got nothing to hide, let them in,” Morgan said, adding that without journalists on the ground, Israel “can just basically pull down on everything.”
He noted that his evolved perspective reflects broader shifts in international opinion, including among Israel’s traditional allies.
“It’s not just people like me. I think it’s also leaders of some of Israel’s biggest allies, the UK, France, Germany, and even former Israeli Prime Ministers now coming out accusing the Israeli government of committing war crimes. This is very serious,” Morgan said.
However, he rejected accusations that he has switched sides in the conflict.
“I don’t want people to think I’ve switched sides, because that would imply I was on somebody’s side to start with, and I wasn’t,” he said. “I was never on Israel’s side against Palestinians. I’m not on the Palestinian side now against Israel.”
Morgan pointed to recent statements by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich about removing Palestinians from Gaza as evidence of concerning intentions within the government.
“Some of the people in that government absolutely are, in their heads, waging a form of genocide, and that is a crime, and it can’t be allowed to continue,” he said.
He added that Netanyahu might be prolonging the conflict to avoid facing accountability.
“One of the reasons you’re seeing him continue the war and in no hurry to resolve it is because the moment this war is over, the Israeli people are going to hold him accountable for allowing October 7 to happen.”
Morgan’s full interview appears in the latest issue of Arabian Business magazine.
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