US President Donald Trump told the Israeli parliament on Monday that the ceasefire he helped broker in the Gaza war 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, adding, “This is not only the end of a war… This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East.”
Stating that “it feels so good to say” that the hostages are back, Trump stressed that “his personality is all about stopping wars, and it seems to work.”
If America does go to war, he asserted, “We’re going to win that war like nobody has ever won a war before. We will not be politically correct. Peace through strength, that’s what it’s all about.”
Saying that the US has the best weapons, he acknowledged, “We’ve given a lot of them to Israel, frankly. Bibi would call me so many times – can you get me this weapon, that weapon, and some of them I’d never heard of.”
Hailing an end to a “painful nightmare” after two years of war in Gaza, he stated, “From October 7 until this week, Israel has been a nation at war, enduring burdens that only a proud and faithful people could withstand.”
Trump continued, “For so many families across this land, it has been years since you’ve known a single day of true peace… Now at least, not only for Israel, but also for Palestinians and many others, the long and painful nightmare is finally over.”
He also said that he wanted a peace deal with Iran, after the United States 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 told about Iran during the speech to Israeli parliament.
Trump added that the forces of “jihadism and antisemitism” have failed, as he celebrated the ceasefire. He stressed, “Together we’ve shown that peace is not just a hope that we can dream about, it’s a reality we can build upon day by day, person by person, and nation by nation.”
“It should now be clear to everyone throughout the region that decades of fomenting terrorism and extremism, jihadism and antisemitism have not worked. They haven’t worked. They’ve been a disaster.”
He viewed that the Palestinian people should choose to turn away from “terror and violence” as he hailed the recently minted ceasefire in Gaza in an address to Israel’s parliament. “And the choice for Palestinians could not be more clear. This is their chance to turn forever from the path of terror and violence.” (AFP)
