ReutersUS President Donald Trump told jubilant Israeli lawmakers that “a long and painful nightmare is finally over” after helping broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In the first such address by a US president since 2008, Trump said the day would mark “the moment when things start to change, and change a lot for the better” in the Middle East.
Trump's address to Israel's parliament, the Knesset, came on the day Hamas released the last 20 living hostages held in the Palestinian enclave.
Israel releases 250 Palestinian prisoners and more than 1,700 other Palestinians detained during a two-year military operation in the Gaza Strip.
During the whirlwind visit to the region, Trump will also attend a peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, along with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and other world leaders.
After hearing politicians chant “Trump, Trump, Trump” in the Knesset, the US president suggested the region was experiencing the “historic dawn of a new Middle East.”
It repeated the words he used when Israel signs landmark agreements with several Arab states during his first presidency.
“Finally, not only for the Israelis, but also for the Palestinians, the long and painful nightmare is finally over,” Trump added.
The truce he helped achieve was “the hardest breakthrough of all, perhaps the hardest breakthrough ever,” Trump said. He noted that his next task would be to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump recounted some of his recent conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he believes Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip is getting “bad” and “hot.”
Trump's speech was briefly interrupted when an opposition member of parliament held up a piece of paper with the words “Recognize Palestine” written on it. At least one person was taken from the room.
Trump was introduced to parliament by Netanyahu, who welcomed his colleague's various acts of solidarity with Israel.
Trump was the “greatest friend” Israel has ever had in the White House, Netanyahu said.
“Everything changed” in America's attitude toward Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip when Trump was re-elected as US president last year, Netanyahu added.
Israel's prime minister thanked Trump for his “tireless assistance” in securing the return of the remaining hostages – part of a group of 251 people captured during the Hamas attacks in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Trump went on to pay tribute to his colleague, saying, “He's not the easiest guy to be around, but that's what makes him great.”
ReutersA truce in the Gaza Strip took effect Friday morning after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of Trump's 20-point peace plan. The next steps are still to be discussed.
Trump said the ceasefire would hold and that a “peace council” would be quickly established to govern the territory, which he would lead.
In his address to parliament, Netanyahu said he was “committed to peace.”
Other key US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, were also welcomed to the Knesset along with Trump.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner have received particularly loud praise from Israeli parliamentarians for their own roles in securing the ceasefire. Kushner was accompanied by his wife Ivanka Trump.
Members of Trump's audience wore red caps. Instead of Trump's signature slogan, “Make America Great Again,” they read, “Trump is the President of the World.”
The speaker of parliament told Trump that “there is no one” more deserving of next year's Nobel Peace Prize.
However, some Israeli lawmakers who want the war in Gaza to continue did not attend the event.
