JERUSALEM — President Donald Trump on Monday said the world is witnessing the “historic dawn of a new Middle East” with the ceasefire that has taken effect in Gaza, calling for a commitment on all sides to end fighting in favor of rebuilding — and even extending an appeal to Iran for “friendship and cooperation.”
Addressing the Knesset, Israel’s 120-member legislature, the president celebrated the end to a two-year long war that began with one of the worst attacks in Israel’s history and left tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians dead. He praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who he has spent the last six weeks strongarming into a negotiated settlement with Hamas.
“The hostages are back. The hostages are back,” Trump said in his first stop on a quick eight-hour visit to the Middle East that will later include a stop in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for the formal signing of the peace deal. “It feels good to say.”
Trump enjoyed a hero’s welcome that included a gigantic “thank you” sign on the Tel Aviv beach silhouetted with his profile — a visual reminder that while the ceasefire remains fragile, and negotiations over the future of Gaza are ongoing, the release of the remaining 20 living hostages alongside Israel’s retreat from Gaza City stands, for now, as a diplomatic triumph.
Even as administration officials remain cautious and privately work to temper expectations of a lasting peace, Trump’s top aides and allies have boasted for the last week that he achieved what the the Biden administration could not and appeared to delight in poking fun at the many media accounts that questioned the competency of Trump’s chief envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law.
“We have to remember this is a remarkable achievement from an administration that really chose a non-conventional path to diplomacy,” Vice President JD Vance said Sunday.
TURMOIL AT HOME
Trump’s triumphant speech abroad comes as he continues to face growing turmoil at home. The president is locked in a stalemate with Democrats that has kept the government closed for nearly two weeks.
On Friday, the Trump administration said in court filings it would fire thousands of federal employees, a move the White House blamed on Democrats, though it has never been done during previous shutdowns.
Trump is also contending with fierce opposition to his decision to send the National Guard into Portland and Chicago, cities he’s described as war zones and suggested the military might use as “training grounds.”
‘MY GREAT HONOR’
But on Monday in Tel Aviv those troubles were an ocean away and Trump seemed to rejoice in the role of the “President of Peace.”
“This is my great honor,” he wrote in thick, black marker in the Knesset guestbook. “A great and beautiful day, a new beginning.”
“Israel has won all that can be won by force of arms,” Trump told the Knesset. “Together, we have shown that peace is not just a hope we can dream about, it is a reality we can build upon.”
Indeed, Trump suggested he wasn’t ready to stop with Israel. The president extended an offer to Iran, saying, “the hand of friendship and cooperation is always open.”
“We’re going to see if we can do something,” Trump said.
Trump is the first U.S. president to address the Knesset since former President George W. Bush in 2008 during Israel’s 60th anniversary celebration. He spoke of the United States as a great friend of Israel though his relationship with Netanyahu is more complicated.
Even as the peace agreement offers Israel a host of important victories, the Israeli prime minister did not come to it easily. Trump was increasingly frustrated with Israel’s attacks in Gaza and abroad as he worked to end the war. The dynamics changed significantly after Israel’s strike on Doha, which crossed a line in the eyes of the administration, threatening to jeopardize negotiations and the bond between Trump and Netanyahu.
That’s when Trump became much more “direct and pointed,” according to a White House official. He forced Netanyahu in the Oval Office to call the Qatari prime minister to apologize.
“You could tell Bibi and the Israelis were not thrilled with what happened that day, but they knew it needed to happen,” the White House official said. “You could just feel it. They were not happy.”
CHALLENGES AHEAD
But even as Trump struck an optimistic note in his speech, the days and weeks ahead are beset with challenges. The next steps in the peace process are likely to require even more compromise for Netanyahu, who is due to face an election soon. The future of Hamas and Gaza still needs to be negotiated.
Israel’s right wing leaders have indicated they’re not ready to declare an end to the war on Hamas, and may put pressure on Netanyahu to limit the concessions.
However, Trump is now wildly popular in Israel. That means he is Netanyahu’s most important ally politically, and the prime minister cannot afford to create new cracks in their recently cemented relationship.
Netanyahu gifted him a golden dove and nominated Trump for the Israel Prize, the nation’s most prestigious honor.
