President Trump hailed ” the historic dawn of a new Middle East” in remarks to Israeli lawmakers at the Knesset on Monday, after all living hostages were reunited with their families.
The president received repeated standing ovations from the Israeli parliament during his more than hour-long speech Monday, as he declared the start of a new era in the Middle East and peace for Israel. The hostages were released to the Red Cross in Gaza early Monday, before being taken to be reunited with their families in Israel, more than two years after Hamas launched its deadly assault on Oct. 7, 2023.
“After two harrowing years in darkness and captivity, 20 courageous hostages are returning to the glorious embrace of their families, and it is glorious,” Mr. Trump said. “Twenty-eight more precious loved ones are coming home at last to rest in this sacred soil for all of time. And after so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today, the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a holy land that is finally at peace, a land and a region that will live, God willing, in peace for all eternity.”
He called it “a brilliant point in time” and told the Knesset, “Generations from now, this will be remembered as the moment that everything began to change, and change very much for the better, like the USA right now, it will be the golden age of Israel, and the golden age of the Middle East.”
Mr. Trump singled out for praise special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who was at the forefront of negotiations and critical in reaching a deal all parties could sign. Mr. Trump lauded Witkoff, who was a real estate developer before he joined the Trump administration, for his negotiating skills but said he thinks his likeability is what makes him so successful. The Knesset chamber erupted in applause for Witkoff.
“Steve started this all by himself,” Mr. Trump said of the peace deal. “I call him Henry Kissinger who doesn’t leak, okay? Henry was a big leaker. He leaked. Steve doesn’t leak. Steve just wants to get the job done, he wants to do what’s right.”
Two Israeli lawmakers who held up signs saying “Recognize Palestine” and interrupted Mr. Trump’s remarks at the Knesset were ejected from the parliament.
The president also made light of the critics he said had predicted that he’d “drag” the U.S. into more wars.
“But when you settle eight wars in eight months, that means you don’t like war,” he said.
“Everyone thought I was going to be brutal. In fact, l remember Hillary Clinton during a debate, she said, ‘Look at him, look at him, he’s going to go to war with everybody.’ And actually, she said, ‘He’s got a personality that’s all about war.’ No, my personality actually is all about stopping wars, and it seems to work. Seems to work.”
But on Friday, Clinton, who was secretary of state during the Obama administration and lost the 2016 presidential election to Mr. Trump and has long had an acrimonious relationship with him, had words of praise for Mr. Trump and the Israel-Hamas deal he brokered. In an interview with CBS News senior correspondent Norah O’Donnell, Clinton called it “a significant step” and added, “I really commend President Trump and his administration” and Arab leaders in the region for committing to the 20-point peace plan.
In one of the more awkward moments of the president’s lengthy remarks, he called for Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Netanyahu, apparently in reference to corruption charges Netanyahu has been fighting for years.
“I have an idea. Mr President, why don’t you give him a pardon? Give him a pardon,” Mr. Trump said, turning to Herzog.
“By the way, that was not in the speech, as you probably know! But I happen to like this gentleman right over here, and it just seems to make so much sense.”
The president also told Netanyahu the timing of the agreement to end the war is “brilliant,” and he suggested continuing the war could have been politically perilous for the prime minister. Netanyahu’s offensive in Gaza was condemned by a number of countries over severe restrictions on the distribution of food to Palestinians and the killing of civilians. He has also been harshly criticized by his own people and was booed in Hostage Square Saturday night when Witkoff mentioned his name.
“The world wanted peace and Israel wanted peace, everybody did,” Mr. Trump said. “What a victory it’s been. If you’d kept going on for three, four years fighting, fighting, fighting, it was getting bad, it was getting heated. The timing of this is brilliant and I said, ‘Bibi you’re going to be remembered for this for far more than if you kept this going, going, going, kill, kill, kill.’ It would not be the same. And I just want to congratulate you for having the courage — that’s it.”
He urged Israelis to focus now on peace and reconstruction: “We’ve won, and now let’s rebuild our lives and make it stronger and bigger and better than ever before.”
The president met with some of the Israeli hostages’ families at the Knesset before delivering his remarks, according to the Hostage and Missing Families Forum. Afterward, the president traveled to Egypt for a peace signing ceremony.