Washington: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on told US President Donald Trump he had nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize, handing Trump a nomination letter during a meeting at the White House.
Speaking to reporters at the beginning of their meeting late on Monday, Washington time, Netanyahu said Israel was working with the US to find countries who would give Palestinians a better future.
“He’s forging peace as we speak,” Netanyahu said. “In one country and one region after the other. So I want to present to you, Mr. President, the letter I sent to the Nobel Prize Committee. It’s nominating you for the Peace Prize, which is well deserved, and you should get it.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, hands US President Donald Trump a folder during a meeting in the Blue Room of the White House on Monday.Credit: AP
The honour was “well-deserved”, Netanyahu told Trump.
The US president has long called himself a master peacemaker and made clear his desire for the Nobel Prize.
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Trump said the nomination was news to him. “Coming from you, this is very meaningful,” he told the Israeli leader.
Netanyahu is not the first foreign leader to nominate Trump, who has long coveted a Nobel. Last month, Pakistan said it would nominate Trump for the prize, underscoring how foreign leaders understand the best way to get what they want from the US president is to shower him with praise.
Trump and Netanyahu met at a private dinner with officials, as families of hostages held in Gaza pushed for any ceasefire agreement to include the release of all remaining hostages.
