Posted on 07/08/25
| News Source: Arutz-7
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Monday evening with US President Donald Trump in Washington, their third meeting this year.
At the start of the meeting, Netanyahu presented Trump with a letter he had sent to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, recommending Trump for the award.
Netanyahu was asked about Trump's plan for Gaza, which he presented several months ago and would see Gazans voluntarily leave the Strip while it is being rehabilitated.
"I think President Trump has a great idea: free choice. If people want to stay, let them stay, and if they want to leave, let them leave. We are working with the United States to find countries that offer a better future for the Palestinians. We are getting closer and closer to finding such countries. The Palestinians should have the freedom to choose," said Netanyahu.
He stressed, "The Palestinians should have the ability to lead themselves but not the ability to harm us. No one in Israel agrees to anything else - we want to live. The Palestinians had the Hamas state before October 7, and look what they did with it. They carried out a horrific massacre not seen since the Nazis."
Trump commented on the Iranian nuclear issue and said: "We scheduled talks with Iran. They want to talk to us. They took a big drubbing when we hit the three sites."
The President also said that he "thinks Hamas wants a deal." His Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who participated in the meeting, stated, "We have an opportunity to finally get a peace deal...and I'm hopeful for it very quickly."
On the issue of Syria, Netanyahu said, "I think that everyone understands that the situation has changed and that opportunity has been opened by the President and by the changed security situation after the collapse of the Assad regime."
Trump said he was "very impressed" by new Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and had removed the sanctions on Syria in order to give him a chance." He further revealed that several countries, including Israel, had asked him to lift the sanctions on Syria.