Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday nominated US President Donald Trump for the Israel Prize.Speaking in the Israeli parliament, Knesset, ahead of Trump’s address to lawmakers, Netanyahu said he submitted Trump’s nomination to make him the first non-Israeli recipient of the “Israel Prize.” He added, “As to that other prize, just a question of time, you’ll get it!”
Earlier, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana called Trump a “colossus who will be enshrined in the pantheon of history,” declaring that the Jewish people will remember him “thousands of years from now.”Netanyahu also described Trump as the “greatest friend that the state of Israel has ever had in the White House.” He said, “No American president has ever done more for Israel.”In his speech, Netanyahu praised Israel’s soldiers, saying the country had “achieved amazing victories over Hamas.”His statements came as Israel began receiving the last hostages held by Hamas and prepared to release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under a Gaza ceasefire agreement.Donald Trump arrived in Tel Aviv on Air Force One on Monday, where he will stay for a few hours before flying to Egypt for a ceremony marking the ceasefire plan.More aid was being prepared for Gaza, much of which has been destroyed during the two-year war that began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Israel’s military response has, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, killed more than 67,600 Palestinians.Hamas handed over 20 surviving Israeli hostages on Monday under the ceasefire agreement, while Trump and other world leaders prepared for a summit on Gaza.In Tel Aviv, a large crowd gathered to support hostage families and reacted with joy, tears, and song as news of the releases came, while grieving those who did not survive.Under the agreement, Israel is to release nearly 2,000 detainees in exchange for the hostages.The handover coincided with Trump’s visit to Israel for a short trip before heading to Egypt for a peace summit. Trump declared the war “over.”
