Netanyahu nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize during meeting in Washington

The meeting came as Washington is expected to press Israel to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza, where the conflict with Hamas has lasted 21 months and claimed nearly 60,000 lives, mostly Palestinian.

Trump stated during the meeting that Hamas “want to meet and they want to have that ceasefire.” However, he did not provide further details regarding possible arrangements for a truce. When asked about prospects for a two-state solution, the U.S. president redirected the question to Netanyahu. The Israeli Prime Minister reiterated his government’s long-standing position that Israel would retain a “security guarantee” over territories such as the Gaza Strip.

Indirect negotiations between Israeli and Hamas representatives resumed Monday in Qatar for the first time in six weeks, though key issues remain unresolved. Netanyahu repeated that Hamas must be permanently removed from Gaza.

In response to questions about the future of Palestinians in Gaza, Netanyahu stated, “It’s called free choice… if people want to stay, they can stay, but if they want to leave, they should be able to leave.”

“It shouldn’t a prison,” Netanyahu said. “It should be an open place and give people a free choice. We’re working with the United States very closely about finding countries that will seek to realize what they always say they wanted – to give the Palestinians a better future. And … I think we’re getting close to finding several countries.”

Netanyahu is expected to continue meetings in Washington with senior U.S. officials.

Earlier, it was reported that President Donald Trump had posted on his Truth Social platform a letter addressed to President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in which he announced plans to impose a 25% tariff on all Kazakh products.