In Jerusalem, Trump hails ‘historic dawn of a new Middle East’ after Gaza ceasefire deal

Reuters/ AFP: United States President Donald Trump told the Israeli parliament on Monday that the ceasefire he helped broker in the Gaza conflict had ushered in the “historic dawn of a new Middle East”.

“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 said.

“This is not only the end of a war … This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East.“

Trump’s lightning visit to Israel came ahead of a summit in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh co-chaired by the American president, who has declared the conflict in Gaza “over”. Under the ceasefire deal, Israel is due to release nearly 2,000 Palestinians held in its jails.

Addressing the Israeli parliament, Trump called the agreement that brought about a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the captives held by Hamas a triumph as he thanked mediators from the Arab and Muslim world.

“Let me also convey my tremendous appreciation for all of the nations of the Arab and Muslim world that came together to press Hamas to set the hostages free and to send them home,” Trump said in remarks before the Israeli parliament.

“We had a lot of help, we had a lot of help from a lot of people that you wouldn’t suspect, and I want to thank them very much for that. It’s an incredible triumph for Israel and the world to have all of these nations working together as partners in peace.“

The address to the Israeli parliament was briefly interrupted as a left-wing lawmaker was expelled.

“That was very efficient,” Trump quipped as the MP was quickly taken out. The US president had paused as a Knesset staff member audibly ordered the expulsion of lawmaker Ofer Cassif after an apparent protest.

Trump hailed an end to a “painful nightmare” after two years of fighting in Gaza during his address.

“From October 7 until this week, Israel has been a nation at war, enduring burdens that only a proud and faithful people could withstand,” he said.

“For so many families across this land, it has been years since you’ve known a single day of true peace … The long and painful nightmare is finally over,” the US president added.

“The forces of chaos that have plagued the region are totally defeated,” he said.

Trump also said he wanted a peace deal with Iran, after the US joined Israel in striking the Islamic republic’s nuclear sites during a brief war earlier this year.

“They got it from one side, from the other, and you know it would be great if we could make a peace deal with them,” Trump said of Iran. “Would you be happy with that? Wouldn’t it be nice, I think. Because I think they want to. “

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel could pursue new “peace treaties” with Arab and Muslim countries in the Middle East and beyond.

“Under your leadership, we can forge new peace treaties with Arab countries in the region and Muslim countries beyond the region,” Netanyahu said, adding that “no one wants peace more than the people of Israel”.

He described Trump as the “greatest friend” Israel has ever had in the White House.

“Donald Trump is the greatest friend that the state of Israel has ever had in the White House. No American president has ever done more for Israel,” Netanyahu said in parliament before Trump’s address to lawmakers.

Israel has said it does not expect all of the dead hostages to be returned today.

Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas is also due to return the bodies of the 27 captives who died or were killed in detention, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in 2014 during a previous Gaza conflict.

Among those Israel was due to release in exchange are 250 security detainees, while about 1,700 were detained by the Israeli army in Gaza during the conflict.

In Gaza, too, the ceasefire has brought relief, but with much of the territory flattened by fighting, the road to recovery remains long.

“I returned to Sheikh Radwan with my heart trembling,” 38-year-old Fatima Salem told AFP after she returned to her neighbourhood in Gaza City.

“My eyes kept searching for landmarks I had lost — nothing looked the same, even the neighbours’ houses were gone.

“Despite the exhaustion and fear, I felt like I was coming back to my safe place. I missed the smell of my home, even if it’s now just rubble. We will pitch a tent next to it and wait for reconstruction.”

Trump’s visit to the Middle East aims to celebrate his role in brokering last week’s ceasefire and hostage release deal — but comes at a precarious time as Israel and Hamas negotiate what comes next.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One at the start of the “very special” visit, Trump brushed off concerns about whether the ceasefire would endure.

“I think it’s going to hold. I think people are tired of it. It’s been centuries,” he said of the fighting.

“The war is over. Okay? You understand that?” the US president added.

Final details

Trump announced in late September a 20-point plan for Gaza, which helped bring about the ceasefire.

Negotiators were still wrangling late on Sunday over the final arrangements for the exchanges, with two Hamas sources telling AFP the group was insisting that Israel include seven senior Palestinian leaders on the list of those to be released.

Israel has previously rejected at least one of those names.

After visiting Israel, Trump will head to Egypt, where he and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will co-host a summit of world leaders to back his plan to end the Gaza conflict and promote Middle East peace.

While Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is due at the summit, Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli premier will not attend due to the start of a religious holiday.

In Egypt, Trump will be looking to resolve some of the huge uncertainty around the next phases of the peace plan, including Hamas’s refusal to disarm and Israel’s failure to pledge a full withdrawal from the devastated territory.

Trump insisted he had “guarantees” from both sides and other key regional players about the initial phase of the deal, and the future stages.

A new governing body for devastated Gaza — which Trump himself would head under his own plan — would be established “very quickly”, he added.

Under the plan, as Israel conducts a partial withdrawal from Gaza, it will be replaced by a multi-national force coordinated by a US-led command centre in Israel.

Hamas urged Trump and the mediators of the Gaza deal today to ensure Israel does not resume operations in Gaza.

“We call on all mediators and international parties to continue monitoring Israel’s conduct and to ensure it does not resume its aggression against our people in Gaza,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said.

Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,869 people.