Donald Trump Hails 'Dawn Of New Middle East' In Israeli Parliament Address

President Donald Trump called for "the historic dawn of a new Middle East" in an address to the Israeli parliament on Monday, as he visits the region to celebrate a deal halting the war in Gaza and securing the release of prisoners held by Hamas.

“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,” Trump said in remarks from the Knesset. “This is not only the end of a war, this is the end of an age of terror and death and the beginning of the age of faith and hope and of God,” he added.

Trump will also use the address to call on Israel to “translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East” while pushing Gazans to focus on “restoring the fundamentals of stability, safety, dignity, and economic development, so they can finally have the better life their children deserve,” according to excerpts released by the White House.

The president arrived early Monday in Israel and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the families of hostages captured in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. After the Israel stop, Trump is slated to travel to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, where he is expected to meet with leaders from across the world to celebrate the deal that could bring an end to a devastating two-year war that destroyed much of Gaza and inflamed tensions across the region. 

Trump has painted the agreement as a historic accomplishment that will usher in a new era of stability and prosperity, but the pact is certain to be tested in the coming days and weeks as both sides regroup. Trump plans to devote a significant portion of his speech to urging cooperation between historic rivals.

“It is more obvious than ever that the productive and responsible nations of this region should not be enemies or adversaries, you should be partners, and eventually even friends,” Trump plans to say.

The US president will also address Iran specifically, saying that “the hand of friendship and cooperation is always open” despite US and Israeli military campaigns against the Islamic republic. 

Netanyahu, speaking ahead of Trump, said the deal “opens the door to an historic expansion of peace in our region, and beyond.”

“You are committed to this peace. I am committed to this peace. And together, Mr. President, we will achieve this peace,” Netanyahu said.

Under the agreement, Hamas released Monday the 20 last living hostages taken during the Oct. 7 attack, and is expected to turn over the remains of about two dozen who died in captivity. Israel, in turn, will pull back troops to an agreed upon line and release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

The breakthrough represents the culmination of intense diplomatic efforts spearheaded by the US with the assistance of mediators from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey. Trump’s Monday address came two weeks after he publicly unveiled the broad peace plan alongside Netanyahu at the White House.

For Trump, the agreement — if it sticks — is poised to hand him a landmark foreign policy achievement, even as another high-profile second-term effort to end Russia’s war on Ukraine remains unfulfilled.

“This week, against all odds, we have done the impossible, and brought our hostages home,” Trump plans to say.

The president and his allies have seized on the ceasefire to bolster Trump’s efforts to present himself as a consummate dealmaker and as a “peace president” — as well as his bid to secure a Nobel Peace Prize. While Trump failed to sway the committee ahead of its decision last week, Netanyahu said Monday he had nominated Trump to become the first non-native recipient of the Israel Prize, the country’s highest cultural honor.

“As to that other prize, just a question of time, you’ll get it — but I want you to get the Israel Prize, our highest award to our greatest friend,” Netanyahu said.

Trump has also envisioned using the agreement as a springboard to expand the Abraham Accords he brokered in his first term, agreements normalizing ties between Israel and certain Arab states.

“Together, we have shown that peace is not just a hope we can dream about, it is a reality we can build upon—day by day, person by person, nation by nation,” Trump will say, according to the excerpts.

Still, while Trump has cast the deal as the potential foundation for a broader regional peace and expressed optimism that it will hold numerous obstacles still remain and it is unclear if the ceasefire will hold. Hamas has yet to agree to terms calling for the group, which is designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union, to disarm and forgo any role in the future governance of Gaza — key demands of Netanyahu.

There are also questions about how the next steps of the complex peace plan would be implemented, including the stabilization force to patrol Gaza and how quickly Israeli forces will withdraw. Rebuilding Gaza also remains a daunting challenge with the territory ravaged and most of its more than 2 million population displaced.

The war was sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that killed approximately 1,200 Israelis and resulted in 250 kidnappings. More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ensuing conflict, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza. For Netanyahu’s government, the aim was to eliminate Hamas as a force and ensure the group disarmed and was removed from Gaza.

But Israel’s pursuit of the war and the civilian casualties in Gaza sparked an international outcry. A UN-commissioned report found Israel was committing genocide in Gaza and several major Western nations — Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal — recognized a Palestinian state and increased pressure on Israel to ease the humanitarian crisis. Trump, a stalwart ally of Netanyahu, criticized him publicly after an Israeli strike on Qatar, a US ally, aimed at killing Hamas leaders. 

But on Monday, Trump was set to offer praise of the Israeli leader and the war effort and underscore that the nations “have stood together through trial and setback, through victory and defeat, through glory and heartache.”

“The story of fierce Israeli resolve and triumph since October 7th should be proof to the entire world that those who seek to destroy this nation are doomed to bitter failure,” Trump plans to say. “The State of Israel is strong — and it will live and thrive forever.”

The agreement was formalized after days of intensive negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh, where Israeli and Hamas representatives through mediators hammered out the final details. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and US special envoy Steve Witkoff played critical roles in the negotiations.