(JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented President Donald Trump with a letter he had sent to the Nobel committee, nominating him for the prestigious prize as the two met at the White House Monday.
Trump has made no secret of his ambition to secure the prestigious prize and is pressing Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza.
The letter Netanyahu sent did not mention Gaza, instead citing Trump’s “pivotal role” in negotiating diplomacy between Israel and several other Arab countries including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan in 2020, during Trump’s first term. Trump has vowed to expand the accords, with Saudi Arabia and Syria likely additions seen as dependent on an end to the war in Gaza.
“President Trump has demonstrated steadfast and exceptional dedication to promoting peace, security and stability around the world,” read the letter from Netanyahu, which was dated July 1 and sent to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Presenting Trump with the letter, Netanyahu said, “It’s well deserved, and you should get it.”
“This I didn’t know. Wow,” Trump replied, reading the text. “Coming from you in particular, this is very meaningful.”
During the meeting Monday, Netanyahu and Trump met to discuss their self-proclaimed victory in the military campaign against Iranian nuclear sites, and Netanyahu restated his long-held position that a ceasefire in Gaza should not give way to Palestinian statehood.
In June, Pakistan also nominated Trump for the Nobel prize for his diplomacy in stopping the fighting between India and Pakistan earlier this year.
Trump has long vied for the Nobel Peace Prize, and wrote on Truth Social last month, shortly before announcing a ceasefire in the Israel-Iran war, that he believed he would not get the prize “no matter what I do.” That ceasefire came shortly after Trump took the unprecedented step of bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“No, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be, but the people know, and that’s all that matters to me!,” Trump wrote.
