Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday nominated US President Donald Trump for the Israel Prize, the country’s highest civilian honor, calling him “the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House.”
The announcement was made during a historic session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, where Trump received a standing ovation and was honored for his leadership in brokering a peace deal that resulted in the release of all 20 surviving hostages and a formal end to the two-year war with Hamas.
“I have seen many American presidents, but I have never seen anyone leading the world so quickly and decisively as our friend President Donald J. Trump,” Netanyahu said in his address.
Netanyahu also praised Trump’s record on Israel, including his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the relocation of the US embassy, acceptance of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, support at the United Nations, and his role in initiating the Abraham Accords.
According to the Times of Israel, Netanyahu told Trump, “You have already been etched in the history of humanity… We remember our friends, and know your important and decisive role in bringing back the rest of our hostages.”
The Israeli Prime Minister’s comments came after Hamas released all 20 surviving hostages today.
It is noteworthy that Trump reached Israel on Monday while the hostage exchange was continuing. He is scheduled to attend the Gaza peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt to advance his Gaza peace plan.
In his address, Netanyahu also credited Trump for presenting the peace proposal, which accomplished all of Israel’s war objectives and “opened the door to a historic expansion of peace in our region and beyond.”
The Israeli Prime Minister said, “President Trump, we welcome you here and thank you for your important leadership for a resolution that has the support of the entire world. A resolution that will bring all our hostages home. A resolution that will end the war by achieving all of our objectives.”
Earlier, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana had compared Trump to Cyrus the Great, the ancient Persian ruler who enabled Jews to return to Jerusalem from exile.
Ohana said, “Mr. President, you stand before the Israeli people not as another American president, but as a giant of Jewish history.”
He further said that Trump will be remembered “even thousands of years from now”.
Trump, standing on the Knesset stage, was welcomed with a standing ovation for two and a half minutes and the Knesset guard blew trumpets. He was accompanied by senior Trump adviser Jared Kushner, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, War Secretary Pete Hegseth and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
According to the Times of Israel report, Israeli lawmakers also warmly welcomed all of them.
Monday ended a two-year war, which began with Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, that left more than 1,200 Israelis dead and 251 abducted, according to the Times of Israel. All 20 surviving hostages returned to Israel this morning.
According to the Israeli government, the hostages were identified as Elkanah Bohbot, Avinatan Or, Yosef-Haim Ohana, Aviator David, Rom Braslavsky, Segev Kalfon, Nimrod Cohen, Maxim Harkin, Ethan Horn, Matan Zangaukar, Bar Kupershtein, David Cunio, Ariel Cunio, Gali, Ziv Berman, Matan Angrist, Alon Chael, Omri Miran, Ethan Mor and Guy Gilboa-Dalal. After being handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas, they were safely evacuated from the Gaza Strip by special Israeli forces.
