The new president also suggested that the Jewish State may be “too small” but declined to support controversial annexation proposals
February 4, 2025 11:09
ByJC Reporter, Jewish News Syndicate
Donald Trump has stated that there are "no assurances" the Israel-Hamas ceasefire will hold as time runs out on the deal’s first phase.
The new president told reporters that the US has received “no guarantees” of peace in the region following more than a year of intense conflict, sparked by the Hamas atrocities on October 7, 2023.
Asked about the deal as negotiations over its second phase kick into gear, Trump said: “I have no assurances it will hold. I mean, I’ve seen people brutalised. I’ve never … Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. No, I have no guarantees that the peace is going to hold.”
This may be a reference to the horrific scenes that emerged following the October 7 massacres, which claimed the lives of around 1,200 Israelis.
Many of the terrorists filmed their part in the attacks, and Israel has compiled this footage to show to journalists and world leaders, with Trump reportedly set to view the film ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
During the briefing Trump was also asked about his previous comments that Israel is “too small” and pressed over controversial proposals to annex parts of the West Bank, which have been pushed by far-right members of Israel’s governing coalition.
Asked whether he supports such a plan, Trump responded: “Well, I’m not going to talk about that. It’s certainly a small country in terms of land. You see this pen, this wonderful pen? My desk is the Middle East and the top of the pen is Israel.
“That’s not good, it’s a pretty big difference. It’s a pretty small piece of land, and it’s amazing they’ve been able to do what they’ve been able to do. There’s a lot of good, smart brainpower. But it is a small piece of land, no question about it.”
However, the president has recently doubled down on his suggestion that Gaza could be “cleaned out” with some of the population resettled in Egypt or Jordan, despite backlash from those countries and humanitarian groups.
Asked about the comments last week, Trump said: “They will do it. They will do it. They’re gonna do it, OK. We do a lot for them, and they’re gonna do it,” referring to the billions in US economic aid provided to both nations since the 1950s.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu has now arrived in Washington for talks, with issues including the second stage of the ceasefire agreement, the threat posed by Iran and a potential normalisation with Saudi Arabia reportedly on the table.
Before departing from Ben-Gurion Airport, Netanyahu described his invitation to the White House, the first for any foreign leader in Trump’s second term, as “a testimony to the strength of the Israeli-American alliance” and to his “personal friendship” with the president.
He added: “We’ll deal with important issues, critical issues facing Israel and our region: Victory over Hamas, achieving the release of all our hostages and dealing with the Iranian terror axis in all its components – an axis that threatens the peace of Israel, the Middle East and the entire world”.