Trump, Israeli ally diverge on peace prospects

President Trump is declaring Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip over and has already barreled ahead toward far larger goals — arguing that the fragile ceasefire his administration helped broker is a chance to bring a lasting peace to the greater Middle East.

- By WILL WEISSERT

CHIP SOMODEVILLA Pool Photo PRESIDENT TRUMP listens Monday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses parliament.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is equally exuberant about the present, but far more measured in his assessments going forward. He has characterized the deal, which is still in its early stages, as “a proposal to free hostages and end the war” while also saying that his country used two years of often brutal war in Gaza to showcase its military might.

The pair seemingly offering strikingly different perspectives about the prospects for future peace is noteworthy given just how much each lavished the other with praise during speeches before the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, on Monday.

But it also reflects just how different the political and diplomatic stakes may be for each leader going forward.

Thats especially true given that Trump could see his reputation as an international dealmaker tested by a ceasefire that could yet prove precarious, and Netanyahu may have to focus on domestic issues and keeping the Israeli electorate happy given that he’s set to face election no later than next October.

Differing views on Israel-Hamas war

Trump gleefully added the Israel-Hamas war as No. 8 on the list of global conflicts he'd claimed to have solved — even if that tally exaggerates the role he played in calming some global hot spots. He also declared that the ceasefire would usher in the “dawn of a new Middle East.”

“You've won,” he said of Israel, encouraging the U.S. ally to see the limitations of military force in bringing about enduring peace. “Now it is time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East.”

That followed Netanyahu using his own speech to say, “Our enemies now understand just how powerful and just how determined Israel is.”