Trump Offers To Have Mexico Also Pay For Israeli Separation Barrier

Netanyahu aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to comment on the specifics of the offer.

Washington, December 5 – President-elect Donald Trump continued to insist today his administration will construct a wall along the US-Mexico border and that Mexico will foot the bill for the multi-billion-dollar project – and the incoming chief executive also offered to include in the invoice any work Israel still needs done to complete its separation barrier from Palestinian-controlled areas.

In a phone conversation this morning with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Trump expressed understanding for Israel’s sensitive security predicament, and praised the premier for his uncompromising stance on terrorism. “We need to see more over here of what you’ve done over there, and when we get this Mexico wall done and Mexico pays for it, I’ll make sure they also pay for whatever remains to be done on your wall,” he told Netanyahu. The prime minister praised the incoming US administration this afternoon at a Likud faction meeting in the Knesset.

Israel’s security barrier, begun more than fifteen years ago to stop Palestinian suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks, has yet to be completed along its entire planned length of about 440 miles, mostly as a result of technical or bureaucratic obstacles. While often called a wall, in fact more than 90% of the barrier consists of fences and ditches, with a concrete wall mainly in use near urban areas to protect against sniper fire. Trump’s offer, if accepted and made good, will eliminate any funding problems standing in the way of completion.

Experts cautioned against making too much of the offer, however. “I’ll believe it when I see the US start to build its own,” remarked former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. “This could work, but it depends on a host of factors, and I’d most like to see it part of a larger package that involves Israeli technical expertise in detecting and destroying tunnels under the wall.”

Rumsfeld dismissed concerns that Mexico might refuse to pay for the wall on its own border, let alone part of a barrier thousands of miles away. “People have been dismissing Trump as a serious player for a long time already, and he’s proven them wrong in the biggest way possible,” chuckled the former secretary. “What he’ll probably end up doing is bankrupting the US as he did multiple businesses he founded, forcing some Mexican creditors into a debt restructuring deal that includes new bonds that he’ll then use to build the wall.”

Netanyahu aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to comment on the specifics of the offer, but did note that the president-elect’s phone call came immediately after former porn queen Jenna Jameson tweeted she had a crush on the prime minister. “Trump wants some of that,” they explained.

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