Watch: President Donald Trump hosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his opponent Benny Ganz at the White House on Monday ahead of unveiling the "Deal of the Century" tomorrow. "What a strange system you have," Trump commented about Israel's third election cycle.


U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he will be unveiling the “Deal of the Century,” his peace plan between Israel and the Palestinians, on Tuesday.

“This is a plan that’s very important to peace in the Middle East,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.

“They say Israel and the Palestinians, they have to make peace before you can really have peace in the Middle East. People have been working on this for many, many years and I think we’re relatively close to that. We have to get other people to agree with it also.”

Trump on Monday hosted both the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political rival Benny Ganz of the Blue and White Party – in separate meetings.

“We are going to be announcing a plan tomorrow at 12 o’clock,” he said. “That’s a plan that Bibi maybe and his opponent, I must say they have to like very much. I can say in terms of Bibi, he does. I think in terms of his opponent, he does too. I’ll be meeting with him in a little while.”

Trump added, “Netanyahu and Gantz are worthy competitors. I’ve been waiting for three election campaigns. What a strange system you have. We’ve been talking about the plan for a long time and we waited. We will host Gantz here so it won’t interfere in the elections.”

“I look forward to making history with you tomorrow,” Netanyahu said. “I’ll talk about the plan, the vision of peace, which is historic, the president has put forward, tomorrow.”

Netanyahu went on to tell Trump: “Thank you for everything you’ve done for Israel, for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, for moving your embassy there, for recognizing our sovereignty in the Golan Heights, for recognizing our rights in Judea and Samaria, the heartland of our biblical homeland.”

“The list of your support for Israel, the things you’ve done for Israel since you’ve become president is long but the bottom line is short: you have made our alliance stronger than ever,” he added.

“This is International Holocaust Memorial Day, and on this day, I’m proud to stand here as the prime minister of the one and only Jewish state and thank you for confronting the most antisemitic regime on the planet,” he said referring to Iran.

“When you came into office, Iran was on the march. Because of your leadership, Iran is now on the run. You’ve withdrawn from the dangerous nuclear deal. You’ve slapped on tremendous sanctions. Two weeks ago you took out the most dangerous terrorist on the planet.”

“All those who seek peace, all those who want to fight terrorism, should thank you, Mr. President, for your bold decisions and your bold actions,” he concluded.