Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Wednesday with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and with President Joe Biden. In a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Wednesday night, Netanyahu was said to lavish Trump with compliments. According to the statement, Netanyahu "thanked the president-elect for his assistance in advancing the release of hostages and for helping Israel bring an end to the suffering of dozens of hostages and their families."
The statement said that Netanyahu is committed to returning all of the hostages "however he can, and commended the U.S. President-elect for his remarks that the U.S. would work with Israel to ensure that Gaza will never be a haven for terrorism." The statement went on to say that the two men agreed to meet in Washington soon, and ended by saying that Netanyahu also spoke with and thanked Biden for his help in advancing the deal.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanks Donald Trump for helping hostage achieve the hostage release deal on Wednesday
(Photo: GPO)
Earlier Trump celebrated the agreement in a post on his Truth Social platform. "We have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released shortly. Thank you."
He said he was pleased that the hostages would soon be returning home. "With this deal in place, my National Security team, through the efforts of Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will continue to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven. We will continue promoting PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH throughout the region, as we build upon the momentum of this cease-fire to further expand the Historic Abraham Accords. This is only the beginning of great things to come for America, and indeed, the World!"
U.S. President Biden speaking on the hostage release deal
( MofaQatar_AR)
Biden also expressed his pleasure at the agreement reached in Qatar in an announcement from the White House. "I laid out the precise contours of this plan on May 31, 2024, after which it was endorsed unanimously by the UN Security Council. It is the result not only of the extreme pressure that Hamas has been under and the changed regional equation after a ceasefire in Lebanon and weakening of Iran — but also of dogged and painstaking American diplomacy. My diplomacy never ceased in their efforts to get this done," he said.
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The Security Cabinet is expected to approve the agreement on Thursday despite the objection to the deal by both Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism Party and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit Party.