Baskin, who travelled to Australia this year, led negotiations with Hamas over Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured in 2006 and released as part of a 2011 prisoner exchange.
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Trump has repeatedly claimed he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on securing the peace.
Norwegian authorities are preparing to announce the recipient for this year’s prize in Oslo late on Friday AEDT.
The rapid developments in the Gaza talks appear unlikely to influence the award, however, because the Norwegian Nobel Committee said the decision on this year’s winner had already been made.
“The last meeting of the Nobel Committee took place on Monday,” Erik Aasheim, spokesman for the Norwegian Nobel Institute, told Agence France-Presse.
This would mean Trump would have to wait until 2026 to win the prize, which Barack Obama received in his first year in office.
Netanyahu’s office backed Trump for the award on social media, saying: “Give Donald Trump the Nobel Peace Prize – he deserves it!”
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi also said Trump “deserves the Nobel Peace Prize” for the peace deal, according to a statement reported by news service Anadolu Agency.
The deal approved by the Israeli government on Friday cleared the way for the suspension of hostilities in Gaza within 24 hours and the release of Israeli hostages – taken in Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and being held in Gaza – within 72 hours after that.
Hamas is holding 48 hostages, of which 20 are believed to still be alive. The living hostages are expected to be released on Monday or Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday.Credit: Bloomberg
Israel is expected to release nearly 2000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the remaining 48 hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
“The government has just now approved the framework for the release of all of the hostages – the living and the deceased,” Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s English-language X account said.
