Netanyahu gives Trump letter for Nobel Peace Prize
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Monday, said that he had sent a letter to the Nobel Prize Committee to nominate US President, Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump and Netanyahu met at the White House on Monday to discuss developments in the Middle East.

“He’s forging peace, as we speak, in one country, in one region after the other.

“So, I want to present to you, Mr. President, the letter I sent to the Nobel Prize Committee; it’s nominating you for the Peace Prize, which is well deserved, and you should get it,” Netanyahu said as he reached over the table to present Trump with his document.

“Thank you very much. This I didn’t know. Wow. Coming from you, in particular, this is very meaningful. Thank you very much, Bibi,” Trump responded.

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Trump was expected to press Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire in Israel’s 21-month-old war against Hamas in Gaza amid an outcry over the humanitarian cost of an offensive that has led to nearly 60,000 deaths, most of them Palestinian.

Israeli and Hamas negotiators met for indirect talks for the first time in six weeks in Qatar on Monday. While both sides have spoken positively about the prospects for a ceasefire, several crucial negotiating points remain, including guarantees from the Israeli side that the war would not continue and Netanyahu’s insistence that Hamas be banished from Gaza for good.

Before dinner in the Blue Room at the White House, Trump was asked whether he believed that Palestinians should be forcibly removed from Gaza, amid reports that Israel has laid out plans to force all Palestinians in Gaza into a camp on the ruins of Rafah, a plan that has been criticised as a blueprint for ethnic cleansing. Trump directed Netanyahu to answer the question.

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“It’s called free choice. You know, if people want to stay, they can stay, but if they want to leave, they should be able to leave.

“It shouldn’t be a prison. 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,” said Netanyahu, who is wanted by the international criminal court for alleged war crimes relating to the Gaza war.

At the beginning of the meeting, Netanyahu presented Trump with a letter that he said he had sent to a committee for the Nobel Peace Prize, commending Trump’s efforts to end conflicts in the Middle East.

It was the second high-profile nomination for the president: last month Pakistan said it would recommend Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

During the meeting, Trump also said that he “hoped” that the US would not strike Iran again.

Trump said, “They want to work something out. They’re very different now than they were two weeks ago.”

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He declined to give a date for upcoming talks with Iran but told reporters they would find out more details tomorrow.

Sources in the prime minister’s entourage described the talks in Qatar as positive, according to Israel’s military radio station and an Israeli official quoted by Reuters. Palestinian officials were more downbeat and said initial meetings on Sunday had ended inconclusively.

Netanyahu had met with Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and secretary of state Marco Rubio earlier on Monday. He is expected to remain in Washington to meet with Vice President JD Vance and senior officials, including House Speaker Mike Johnson.