WASHINGTON
US President Donald Trump called on Israeli officials Monday to seize on a diplomatic opening and pursue peace as his plan to end the war in the besieged Gaza Strip takes hold.
"Now it's time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East," the US president said as he addressed the Israeli legislature, known as the Knesset, repeatedly being met with raucous applause from the chamber.
The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect on Friday under Trump’s plan to end the two-year Israeli war on the enclave.
The US president did not mention outstanding issues that remain in Gaza, including the mammoth task of reconstruction that now lies ahead for the coastal enclave, nor ongoing charges of genocide against Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for Israel's conduct during the two-year war.
Two Israeli lawmakers -- Ayman Odeh and Ofer Cassif, members of the left-wing Hadash Party -- interrupted the US president's address, chanting slogans demanding recognition of Palestinian statehood and denouncing the Gaza genocide.
Footage showed Ayman Odeh and Ofer Cassif, members of the left-wing Hadash Party, being removed from the Knesset plenum after raising a paper banner reading “recognize Palestine.” Trump made no mention of Palestinian statehood during his remarks, and has pushed back on states who have recognized Palestine, including close US allies.
Trump said that following the start of his 20-point ceasefire plan, a "golden age of Israel and the golden age of the Middle East" lies ahead.
"Instead of building fortresses to keep enemy today, the nations of this region should be building infrastructure to weave your commerce closer together, because you've got to compete with a big world out there in commerce. Now it's a different kind of competition. Instead of making weapons and missiles, the wealth of this region should float to schools and medicine, industry," he said.
"New bonds of friendship, cooperation and commerce will join Tel Aviv to Dubai, Haifa to Beirut, Jerusalem to Damascus, and from Israel to Egypt, from Saudi Arabia to Qatar, from India to Pakistan, from Indonesia to Iraq, from some area to Bahrain, Turkey to Jordan, The United Arab Emirates to Oman," he added.
Earlier Monday, Hamas and Israel carried out a prisoner swap deal that saw hundreds of Palestinian prisoners released from Israel's notorious Ofer military prison, and Israeli prison facilities in the Negev Desert. All 20 living Israeli hostages were also released from captivity.
After departing Israel, Trump is expected to join over 20 world leaders for a summit in the Egyptian coastal city of Sharm El-sheikh, which he and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will co-chair.
Egypt said the summit aims “to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to bring peace and stability to the Middle East, and usher in a new phase of regional security and stability.”
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed more than 67,800 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, leaving the enclave largely uninhabitable.