Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert praised President Donald Trump’s leadership in forging the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, saying on Newsmax Saturday that Trump was the only leader with the strength and influence to bring regional powers together and “restore a brief, shining moment of joy” to Israelis.
Speaking on Newsmax’s “Saturday Report,” Olmert credited President Donald Trump with orchestrating the breakthrough ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, calling his leadership unmatched and decisive in ending the violence.
“I have to say, I know that President Trump is always facing lots of different comments in America, for obvious reasons, part of geopolitics,” Olmert said. “But I knew for a long time that he's perhaps the only person on Earth that had the power to create what has happened now, and he was the only one who had the leadership, the strength, the influence on all the different factions that were involved to create it.”
The deal, reached Thursday, marks the first phase of a ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas. Under the terms, Hamas will release 20 hostages it is still holding, and Israel will withdraw troops to a designated line while releasing about 2,000 Palestinian detainees, according to reports.
Olmert said Trump’s intervention was decisive in pushing Israel to accept the terms and convincing Arab mediators to unify behind the plan.
“He is the only one that can say to the participants, why?” Olmert continued. “I have to say first and foremost to the Israeli prime minister, who we blame for not wanting to do what needed to be done, that it's all over. It has to stop. Enough is enough. And that’s what he finally did. He finally did it. He is the one, you know. All the credit should go to him. It’s as simple as that.”
The former Israeli leader said the achievement stands apart from any political controversies surrounding Trump at home or abroad.
“If he had not ordered the Israeli prime minister to accept his plan for the ceasefire, and he had not assembled all the different participants — the Qataris, the Turks, the Egyptians, and all the others — it would never [have] happened,” Olmert said.
“So, you know, entirely independent of any controversy that he is part of as president of America, in all other things that are part of the international agenda, we deeply thank him for restoring a brief, shining moment of joy to our lives.”
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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