US President Donald Trump with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Pool via AP)
After criticizing the prosecution of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, US President Trump calls for a Gaza ceasefire deal securing the release of the remaining hostages. Jerusalem remains skeptical that a deal is close at hand.
By World Israel News Staff
US President Donald Trump on Sunda urged Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire deal and agreement for a hostage release, after predicting that a truce could be achieved as soon as this week.
“MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account early on Sunday morning.
Just days earlier, Trump told reporters that he expected a ceasefire in Gaza “within the week.”
“I think it’s close. I just spoke with some of the people involved. It’s a terrible situation that’s going on in Gaza, and we think within the next week, we’re going to get a ceasefire,” he said.
In a separate post over the weekend, Trump repeated his criticisms of Israeli prosecutors involved in the three concurrent corruption trials of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hinting that the proceedings jeopardized diplomatic efforts of the US and Israel.
“How is it possible that the Prime Minister of Israel can be forced to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING,” Trump said.
“The United States of America spends Billions of dollars a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this. We just had a Great Victory with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu at the helm — And this greatly tarnishes our Victory.”
Trump’s twin posts over the weekend fueled speculation that the president is concerned that Israel may be hampered in its ability to negotiate a ceasefire deal with Hamas by Netanyahu’s trial.
Despite the president’s optimism regarding a possible truce this week, Israeli officials expressed skepticism that a deal is in the offing, arguing that Hamas has shown no signs of backing down from demands that Israel has already rejected.
“Unfortunately, there’s no sign of flexibility or change in Hamas’s position, nor a change in the prime minister’s stance on ending the war,” senior Israeli officials were quoted on Friday by the Yedioth Ahronoth daily as saying.
The officials speculated that Trump’s claim of an impending ceasefire is part of an attempt to leverage momentum from the recent Iran-Israel war and destruction of Iranian nuclear facilities to secure an end to the war in Gaza.
However, the officials cited in the report poured cold water not only on Trump’s predictions, but also reports that Trump’s Envoy to the Mideast, Steve Witkoff, is slated to visit the region in the next few days.
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