Donald Trump Slammed for Sharing Israeli Confidential Intel With Russia Back in 2017 Amid Hamas Attack

Donald Trump's actions from when he was president are now coming under censure after the attack on Israel by the militant group Hamas.

In 2017, less than four months into his term, former president Trump reportedly boasted to Sergey Lavrov and Sergei Kislyak, the foreign minister and ambassador of Russia, about the caliber of the briefings he was receiving and provided information to the Russian ambassadors about a covert Israeli intelligence operation into Syria as evidence, HuffPost reported.

According to the Israeli press at the time, Israeli intelligence officers were outraged when they learned of the leak because, given Russia's close ties to Iran and Syria, they had to presume that their local source for the information had been compromised and possibly killed. “If indeed Trump, out of innocence or ignorance, leaked information to the Russians, then there is a real danger to sources that it took years to acquire, and to our working methods,” an Israeli intelligence source said, per the New York Times.

“If tomorrow I were asked to pass information to the CIA, I would do everything I could to not pass it to them. Or I would first protect myself and only then give it, and what I’d give would be totally neutered,” Shabtai Shavit, an ex-Mossad officer told the Times of Israel at the time.

On social media, many people think that Trump's disclosure of Israeli information may have led to Iran supporting the Palestinian group, per Newsweek. Thom Hartmann, an author and political commentator, shared a 2017 Washington Post story on X, formerly known as Twitter, along with the post, "Hamas apparently knew how to get around Israel's Iron Dome defenses. They probably learned this from Iran. Iran almost certainly got the information from Russia. And who gave it to Russia? Sure looks like it was Donald Trump, at the request of Putin."

Allison Gill, who tweets from the 'Mueller, She Wrote' podcast account, added, "Don't forget: Trump gave Israeli intelligence to Russians in the Oval Office 6 years ago. Putin armed Iran in exchange for drones to attack Ukraine."

"This isn't hard to follow," author Mikel Jollett tweeted. "Trump gave military intel to the Russians. The Russians, who are extremely close allies with Iran, gave it to Iran. Iran gave that information to Hamas. Hamas used it to attack Israel. This is why intel security matters. Republicans DO NOT CARE."

Despite this, none of the contenders vying for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 have denounced Trump for his lack of discretion, even as they all blast Biden for unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian funds stored in a South Korean bank. Even though they are all running against Trump for the nomination, and he is the current frontrunner by a considerable majority, none of the contenders' statements attacked Trump for actions harming Israel.