Netanyahu announces that Trump will receive Israel Prize

Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that Donald Trump will be awarded Israel’s highest honour, one usually only given to the country’s citizens, as the two leaders met in Florida to discuss issues including the governance of Gaza and renewed threats from Iran.

During a press conference at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago retreat, Netanyahu told reporters that “We decided to break a convention too, or create a new one, and that is to award the Israel Prize, which in almost our 80 years we’ve never awarded to a non-Israeli, and we’re going to award it this year to President Trump.”

Celebrated Israelis who have previously won the prize include archaeologist Yigal Yadin, philosopher Martin Buber, and the authors AB Yehoshua and Amoz Oz. The only non-Israeli to previously receive a special version of the prize was Zubin Mehta, the longtime conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

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Donald Trump’s desire for awards is well-known – he has repeatedly expressed his frustration at not being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end conflicts around the world. He described the announcement by Netanyahu as “really surprising and very much appreciated.”

During the press conference, Trump described Netanyahu as “a great friend, and I’ve been a great friend to you and Israel, and it’s been my honour”.

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Asked whether the US would back further Israeli strikes on Iran in response to a renewed ballistic missile threat from the Ayatollah regime, Trump said that “speaking of Iran, I hope they’re not trying to build up again, because if they are, we’re going to have no choice but very quickly eradicate that buildup.” He went further still, in suggesting that the US would become directly involved in such an eradication, saying “I hope they’re not doing it, because we don’t want to waste the fuel on a B-2; it’s a 37-hour trip, both ways,”

Asked about Gaza, Trump said that Hamas was going to be given “a very short period of time to disarm … but if they don’t disarm, as they agreed to do, then there will be hell to pay for them.” Regarding the West Bank, the US President said, regarding his position relative to Netanyahu’s, that “I wouldn’t say we agree on the West Bank a hundred percent…but we’ll come to a conclusion on the West Bank.”

Trump also claimed that Israel’s President, Isaac Herzog, had told him that an official pardon for Netanyahu was “on its way”. The official request from the Trump administration a few weeks ago refers to the charges of corruption against the Israeli Prime Minister, with the trial now having lasted more than half a decade. Herzog’s office subsequently said that the Israeli and US Presidents have not spoken directly since the request from Trump was made, but that in response to a query from a US government representative a few weeks ago, “an explanation was provided regarding the stage of the process in which the request currently stands”.