Trump touts ‘age of faith, hope and God’ at Israel’s Knesset

U.S. President Donald Trump announced “the historic dawn of the new Middle East” and called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to receive a pardon in a speech before the Israeli Knesset after Hamas released the 20 living hostages from captivity.

Trump spoke for an hour on Monday in Jerusalem as Israel celebrated the release of the remaining hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, as part of an agreement that the president helped broker. 

“After two harrowing years in darkness and captivity, 20 courageous hostages are returning to the glorious embrace of their families,” 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,” the president added. 

Hamas may not return all of the bodies of the deceased hostages, according to Israeli intelligence reports and messages conveyed by Hamas and mediators during negotiations for the peace deal. 

The terror group, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, is reportedly unable to retrieve all of the bodies, as some of the hostages were held captive by factions in Gaza that are not under the complete control of Hamas. It remains to be seen whether this will impact the peace deal.

“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,” Trump said during his Knesset speech. “It’s the start of a grand concord and lasting harmony for Israel and all the nations of what will soon be a truly magnificent region.”

“I believe that so strongly. This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East,” the president continued. 

During his speech, Trump also addressed Netanyahu, praising the Israeli prime minister’s patriotism and declaring that “his partnership did so much to make this day possible.”

“He’s not the easiest guy to deal with, but that’s what makes him great,” the president said about Netanyahu. 

Trump also called on Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Netanyahu, who is on trial facing bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges. The remark prompted applause from the audience. 

“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,” Trump said.

The president also brought up the topic of Iran, suggesting that a peace deal with the country could be next.

Trump then criticized former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, both Democrats, accusing them of harboring a “hatred toward Israel,” declaring the Iran nuclear deal brokered under Obama as a “disaster for Israel.”

The deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was signed by Iran and several other world powers in 2015. As part of the deal, Iran would receive billions of dollars worth of sanctions relief for agreeing to dismantle most of its nuclear program and open its facilities to more extensive international inspections. 

Critic of the deal, which Trump withdrew from in 2018, argued that it failed to address other security concerns, such as Iran’s continued development of ballistic missiles while receiving billions in sanctions relief. 

“I terminated the Iran nuclear deal, and I was very proud to do it,” Trump said during his speech on Monday. “Yet, even to Iran, whose regime has inflicted so much death on the Middle East, the hand of friendship and cooperation is open. I’m telling you, they want to make a deal.”

The president stressed that there’s “nothing that would do more good” for the Middle East than for Iran’s leaders to “renounce terrorists, stop threatening their neighbors, quit funding their militant proxies, and finally recognize Israel’s right to existence.”

“And it will be the best decision that Iran has ever made,” Trump added. “It’s going to happen.”