JERUSALEM — President Donald Trump arrived in Israel on Monday morning, minutes after the release of the first of 20 hostages by Hamas, and spent the day receiving applause from a country that credits him, more than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for joyful family reunions and the ceasefire after two years of war.
Trump took the moment to tell the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, that this is “not just the end of a war, but the end of the era of terror and death.” Using a phrase other presidents have tried — and often regretted — he added: “This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East.”
Rarely has an American president, especially one as polarizing at home as Trump, been received with such fanfare abroad. In Hostage Square, tens of thousands chanted “Trump, Trump,” and in the Knesset some members wore red MAGA-style caps.
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Netanyahu, whose name was booed in the same square on Saturday night, declared that the president is “the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House.” There were also mentions of Trump’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize and the Israel Prize.
Trump surprised Israeli lawmakers by making two offers to Iran — a country that Israel and the US bombed just four months ago — to begin negotiations that could end decades of enmity and isolation.
“You know what a great thing it would be if we could make a peace deal with them,” he said. “Would you guys be happy with that?” He added, “I think they’re tired,” but the offer didn’t generate an enthusiastic response.
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The applause was loudest when Trump described Israel’s killings of Iranian nuclear scientists during the 12 days of bombings in the country, or when he detailed the number of B-2 bombers, tankers and support aircraft that dropped bunker-buster bombs on Fordo, Natanz and Esfahan, the main Iranian nuclear enrichment sites.
Beneath the surface, there were clear differences over the future of the Gaza Strip, and even over whether the ceasefire that finally allows food and medicine into the territory would necessarily lead to lasting peace. “The war is over,” Trump told reporters, both on Air Force One and in the halls of the Knesset.
Netanyahu was much more cautious, welcoming the release of the hostages and the fact that no living Israelis were being held in Gaza for the first time in years, but refusing to discuss whether Israel would resume hostilities if Hamas did not disarm or leave the territory. Hamas never agreed to that part of Trump’s 20-point plan, and its militias were already moving into neighborhoods that Israel had withdrawn from in recent days.
Even while Trump was in Jerusalem, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that Hamas had only released the remains of four of the 28 hostages who died in captivity. “Each intentional delay or evasion will be considered a serious breach of the agreement and will be responded to appropriately,” he posted on the social network X.
Trump chose to ignore possible future obstacles. In his speech, he deviated from the script to assess Netanyahu’s personality: “He’s not the easiest guy to deal with, but that’s what makes him great.” He spoke at length about the hours of conversations his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had earlier this year with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Witkoff, a New York real estate investor, was described by Trump as a “Henry Kissinger who doesn’t leak information.” Kissinger, national security adviser and later secretary of state under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, was a master of selective leaks in Washington.
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Except for brief references, Trump did not talk about what it would take to rebuild Gaza, the future of the Palestinian people or the trade-offs between creating a Palestinian state and its alternatives.
In fact, there was almost no public discussion about implementing his 20-point plan, except for the fact that he would meet with wealthy Arab countries and European governments who were expected to form an international stabilization force or fund the reconstruction of the devastated territory.
In this regard, elements of Trump’s speech gave another glimpse into his foreign policy. He praised countries for their military strength, especially Israel, which he said emerged “stronger, more respected” than before.
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Two years of conflict with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran have certainly proven that Israel is the strongest power in the region. But Trump did not discuss the country’s diplomatic isolation, while European powers embraced the idea of a separate Palestinian state, in part due to the huge number of civilian casualties caused by Israeli attacks.
As usual, Trump argued that countries make decisions based on their economic interests — that joining the Abraham Accords, for example, would increase trade. But the Middle East is full of nations, religious groups and terrorist organizations that went to war even at the risk of losing all economic progress. Russia did the same when invading Ukraine.
There were some exceptions to the rule. Trump is not known for cultivating alliances, but he expressed gratitude “to all the nations of the Arab and Muslim world who have come together to put pressure on Hamas.”
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Still, he said little about how to build on the momentum of this new cooperation.
There were scattered protests in Israel against Trump’s visit, and two left-wing lawmakers from a joint Palestinian-Israeli political party were escorted out of the Knesset for displaying signs reading “Recognize Palestine!” They were quickly detained, and Trump pursed his lips before saying, “That was very efficient.”
Ayman Odeh, one of the two parliamentarians, wrote on social media that the Knesset speeches would not absolve Netanyahu “of the crimes against humanity committed in Gaza.” He later added: “There are two peoples here, and neither of them is going away.”
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