AIR FORCE ONE - Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One Sunday afternoon on his way to Israel, President Donald Trump expressed confidence a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel would hold and that his 20-point plan for the region will move forward.
“Everybody is happy, whether it’s Jewish or Muslim or the Arab countries. Every country is dancing in the streets. It’s a point in time, I don’t think you’ll every see it again,” Trump said. “The war is over. The war is over…I think it’s [ceasefire] going to hold. There’s a lot of reasons but I think people are tired of it. It’s been centuries. I think people are tired of it and the ceasefire is going to hold and we’re going to make sure of it.”
Phase one of the plan required the release of all remaining living hostages, with serious efforts to turn over the bodies of hostages murdered by Hamas, Palestinian civilians, and other jihadist groups operating in the Gaza Strip.
“Getting them [hostages] was amazing, actually, because we were involved and they were in places you don’t want to know about. Deep, deep,” Trump said without elaborating about who “we” was.
Two weeks ago, Trump announced his 20-point plan from the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The plan received high praise and approval from Arab states in the region, in addition to other countries. In particular, Arab countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar have been tasked with moving beyond Gaza to a broader peace and stability in the region.
“I have a lot of verbal guarantees and I don’t they want to disappoint me. Guarantees that aren’t down in writing but I believe there going to give them to me,” Trump said. “I’m not worried about anything. I think we have a great deal, it’s a great deal for everybody You know, a great deal is where everybody is happy. In every country they are dancing in the streets. That’s a great deal.”
When asked about the Biden administration attempting to take credit for Trump’s deal, the President responded with reminders dating back to the failed foreign policy of the Obama years.
“Everyone knows that’s a joke. They did such a bad job,” True said. “This was bad policy by Biden and Obama…Biden and Obama backed Iran.”
“Everything they did was the opposite of what they should have done. That was years ago, the mistakes were made by Biden and Obama,” Trump said.
After speaking to the Israeli Knesset on Monday, Trump will travel to Egypt, where he will be joined by 20 world leaders for a peace ceremony.