President Trump said an agreement in Gaza is “very close” and boasted it could be the eighth war he’s ended.
“It’s a deal that will get the hostages back. It’s going to be a deal that will end the war. It’s going to be a deal, which is going to be peace,” he told reporters Friday before departing for the Ryder Cup golf showdown in Bethpage, New York.
Also that day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the U.N. General Assembly in Manhattan, and dozens of delegates walked out before he started.
With the speech being streamed live in Gaza, he called on Hamas to release the hostages still held in the Palestinian enclave and said Israel “must finish the job in Gaza.”
Mr. Trump, scheduled to host Mr. Netanyahu on Monday at the White House, told reporters Thursday in the Oval Office, “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Nope, I will not allow it. Not going to happen. … There’s been enough. It’s time to stop now.”
The president made a similar point to Arab and Muslim leaders during a meeting Tuesday at the U.N.
SEE ALSO: Trump says he will not let Israel annex West Bank
Saudi Arabia has moved to increase pressure on Israel, saying any plan to annex the West Bank would end talks to normalize relations between the two nations. The United Arab Emirates, an Arab ally of Israel, has shared similar sentiments, saying it could jeopardize the Abraham Accords, Mr. Trump’s prized foreign policy accomplishment from his first term.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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