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Trump, Netanyahu Speak After Meeting on Gaza Ceasefire Proposal. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 29, 2025 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:30:00]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... you really doing peace in the Middle East? This is the most incredible thing we've heard. Some think it's the biggest thing they've ever heard.

They called just to find out, was it just a rumor or is it actually done? And then they said, have you spoken to the Arab leaders? Have you spoken to all of the other leaders that we have to get? A lot of people involved in this one.

I also want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for agreeing to the plan and for trusting that if we work together, we can bring an end to the death and destruction that we've seen for so many years, decades, even centuries, and begin a new chapter of security, peace, and prosperity for the entire region. And I want to just say that my meetings and dialogue that we had with so many countries, Saudi Arabia as an example, the king is a phenomenal person.

The Emir of Qatar, who's an incredible people. UAE, and that's MBZ and ABZ. We're totally involved.

These are the people that we've been dealing with and have been actually very much involved in this negotiation, giving us ideas, things they can live with, things they can't live with. Pretty complex. I mean, after 2,000, 3,000 years, whatever it is, I guess it's got to be a little complex or it would have been done a long time ago.

The King of Jordan was with us, as you know, in the United Nations. President of Turkey, President Erdogan, he's a friend of mine, strong man, but a good man. President of Indonesia, somebody who's an amazing leader, Prabowo. He is an amazing leader and respected by everybody. He was in the room with us.

We were together with most of these people that I'm mentioning. Others were by phone or the next day. The Prime Minister and the Field Marshal of Pakistan, they were with us right from the beginning, incredible. In fact, they just put out a statement that they fully believe in this pact. It just came out just as I was walking around. They said, sir, you have a big notice from the Prime Minister of Pakistan and from the Field Marshal that they back this 100 percent.

President El-Sisi of Egypt, who's terrific. And these are people I've gotten to know over the years. I mean, it's -- I would say it started around 2015 and then went into 2016 when the presidency began -- officially began.

But I've known him, actually, for a long time. And there are many cases -- really great men. I can't say in all cases, but I will tell you, in many cases, they're great men and some great women, too. They tend to be mostly men, however. I will say that.

But if accepted by Hamas, this proposal calls for the release of all remaining hostages immediately, but in no case more than 72 hours. So the hostages are coming back. And I hate even saying this from the standpoint -- doesn't sound right, but it is so important to the parents. The bodies of the young men -- I believe in almost all cases, the young men are coming back immediately.

I met with parents. Their parents felt it strongly about getting their -- the body of their dead boy back, as they did as though the boy were alive and well. It's so important to them.

And it means the immediate end to the war itself, not just Gaza. It's the war itself. Under the plan, Arab and Muslim countries have committed -- and in writing, in many cases, but I actually would take their word for it. The people I mentioned, I'd take their word for it -- to demilitarize Gaza -- and that's quickly. Decommission the military capabilities of Hamas and all other terror organizations. Do that immediately.

And we're relying on the countries that I named and others to deal with Hamas. And I'm hearing that Hamas wants to get this done, too. And that's a good thing. And destroy all terror infrastructure, including the tunnels, weapons of production facilities. They have a lot of production facilities that we're destroying.

[14:35:00]

They'll also help train local police forces in the areas that we're discussing right now, in particular, in and around Gaza. Working with the new transitional authority in Gaza, all parties will agree on a timeline for Israeli forces to withdraw, in phases. They'll be withdrawing in phases.

No more shooting, hopefully, as progress is made toward achieving these goals. Arab and Muslim nations need to be allowed the chance to fulfill these commitments of dealing with Hamas. They have to deal with them, because they were the one group that we have not dealt with -- I haven't dealt with them. But the Arab countries are going to -- and Muslim countries are going to be dealing with Hamas. And I believe they've already been there.

I think they probably have an understanding. And they haven't maybe mentioned that, but I would imagine they do. Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone as far as they've gone.

If they're unable to do so, then Israel would have the absolute right and actually our full backing, the U.S. full backing. Marko is here, and a lot of our leaders are here. Our great Vice President, Susie Wiles, Steve Whitkoff, Jared Kushner.

They've been so involved in this process. I don't think anybody else could have done it or even come close. But it's -- we're right there.

We're right there. First time in thousands of years, I think you can probably say, if you really look into it, if you study back, if you're a scholar, you would say thousands of years. Israel would have my full backing to finish the job of destroying the threat of Hamas.

But I hope that we're going to have a deal for peace. And if Hamas rejects the deal, which is always possible -- they're the only one left. Everyone else has accepted it.

But I have a feeling that we're going to have a positive answer. But if not, as you know, BB, you'd have our full backing to do what you would have to do. Everyone understands that the ultimate result must be the elimination of any danger posed in the region.

And that danger is caused by Hamas. The tyranny of terror has to end. And this is, again, something that we're looking for.

This is eternity. This is for forever. To ensure the success of this effort, my plan calls for the creation of a new international oversight body.

The Board of Peace, we call it. The Board of Peace. Sort of a beautiful name. The Board of Peace. Which will be headed -- not at my request, believe me. I'm very busy.

But we have to make sure this works. The leaders of the Arab world and Israel and everybody involved asked me to do this. So it will be headed by a gentleman known as President Donald J. Trump of the United States. That's what I want this -- some extra work to do. But it's so important that I'm willing to do it.

And we'll do it right. And we're going to put leaders from other countries on, and leaders that are very distinguished leaders. And we'll have a board.

And one of the people that wants to be on the board is the U.K. former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Good man. Very good man. And some others. And they'll be named over the next few days. And it'll be quite the board.

Working -- everybody wants to be on it now. I don't know if that had anything to do -- they named me, and everybody else wanted to be on it. I guess they figured, well, he's a soft touch. He'll be easy to deal with.

Working with the World Bank and others, it will be responsible for recruiting and training a new government that will be made up of Palestinians, along with highly qualified experts from all around the world. Hamas and other terrorist factions will play no role in the board, but they'll play no role in the governance of Gaza at all, directly or indirectly.

As you know, thousands of Hamas leaders have been killed, and soldiers have been killed. And we can never forget October 7th, but thousands have paid the price for that. And now it's time to get our hostages back and get back to trying to build something that's really great and very important.

In our meeting today, Prime Minister Netanyahu was very clear about his opposition to a Palestinian state. And he continuously mentions October 7th, and I understand that. Most people do.

And I understand and respect his position on many things. But what he's doing today is so good for Israel. I noticed that they have large crowds gathering in Israel all the time.

[14:40:00]

And they have my name up. They like me for whatever reason. Bibi I don't know, but they do like me.

But they say two things. Please get the hostages back, and please end the war. They've had it. I think it's a very popular thing you do, because he's a warrior.

He doesn't know about getting back to a normal way of life. But he is a warrior, and Israel is lucky to have him. But now the people want to get back to peace. They want to get back to normalization, in a true sense.

Several countries have foolishly recognized the Palestinian state. As you know, some of our European friends, allies, good people. But they're really, I think, doing that because they're very tired of what's going on for so many decades. They've been Presidents and Prime Ministers for years. And during this time, having to do with the Middle East, all they're doing is talking about the same thing over and over.

They want to see it get back. And nobody wants that more than me or, I believe, Bibi, too. But the people of Israel want it.

They really want it. They want the hostages back. That includes the probably 32 bodies that we're talking about. Twenty people that are living. Thirty-two or so people that are dead. And they want to have peace.

So, let us not forget how we got here. Hamas was elected by the Palestinian people. Israel withdrew from Gaza, thinking they would live in peace.

Remember that a long time ago? They withdrew. They said, You take it. This is our contribution to peace. But that didn't work out. That didn't work out.

It was the opposite of peace. They pulled away. They let them have it. And I never forgot that because I said, That doesn't sound like a good deal to me.

As a real estate person, I mean, they gave up the ocean, right? Ron, they gave up the ocean. They said, Who would do this deal? And it still didn't work out. They were very generous, actually.

And they gave up the most magnificent piece of land in many ways in the Middle East. And they said, all we want to do now is have peace. And that request was not honored.

Instead of building a better life for the Palestinians, Hamas diverted resources to build over 400 miles of tunnels and terror infrastructure, rocket production facilities, and hid their military command posts and launch sites in hospitals, schools, and mosques. So, if you went after them, you'd be after them, and you wouldn't even realize you ended up knocking out a hospital or a school or a mosque. That terrible thing, terrible, terrible way to have to fight.

No fight is good, but that's a real bad one. So, there are many Palestinians who wish to live in peace. Many, many, many. I've seen so many of them. And they have support. And I challenge the Palestinians to take responsibility for their destiny, because that's what we're giving them.

We're giving them responsibility for their destiny. Fully condemn and prohibit terrorism and earn their way to a brighter future. They don't want the life that they've had. They've had a rough life with Hamas.

If the Palestinian Authority does not complete the reforms that I laid out in my vision for peace in 2020, they'll have only themselves to blame. We're giving them an amazing footprint, and they have amazing support from the leaders of the Arab world and the Muslim world.

They're great, great leaders. These are great leaders. These are unbelievable leaders that have built great countries and very wealthy countries.

What the future holds for the Palestinians, no one really knows, but the plan that we put forward today is focused on ending the war immediately, getting all of our hostages back, getting everything back. Hard to believe when you even say it. And creating conditions for durable Israeli security and Palestinian success.

Israeli security is going to be involved. We're going to help you. We'll be there with you.

In terms of helping with security, we want to make sure it works. We just want to make sure it works. There shouldn't be a shot fired.

Now there will be, I guess, because that's the way it seems to be, but they shouldn't have to be within a few days. They shouldn't have to be a shot fired. It may be for eternity.

Wouldn't that be nice? I hope it's true. I can tell you the leadership of that region feels that there's a good chance of it being true.

So this will lead to a -- this agreement that we're talking about will lead to a sustainable, long-term peace. No President in history has been a greater friend of the State of Israel than I have, in addition to negotiating the Abraham Accords. I like to say it that way because the real people, that's what they call Abraham.

[14:45:00]

I would say Abraham, but it's so much nicer when you say Abraham. Because the real people, that's what they call Abraham. It's so much more elegant. But the Abraham Accords are amazing. Jared, you did that along with your group of geniuses.

And nobody thought that could be done. We have four countries. And sleepy Joe Biden didn't do a thing.

He didn't even know what the hell they were. He should have had them fold up. But I think this will also lead to packing them.

And who knows, maybe even Iran can get in there. I hope. We expect -- we hope we're going to be able to get along with Iran.

I think they're going to be open to it. I really believe that. But they could be a member.

I long ago said, I'll bet you, at some point, Iran will be a member of the Accords. And little did I realize it was going to take this turn. That was some turn we did with the B-2s.

But I think they might very well be there because it's a great thing for them economically. I recognize the eternal capital of Israel. I opened the American embassy in Jerusalem.

That was something that everyone said would never be done, could never be done. Every -- virtually every President for many, many years, for decades, would campaign on making Jerusalem the capital of Israel. They'd campaign.

They campaigned on it over and over. Is that right, Steve? Is that right?

Everyone. And when they got to it -- and I understand why now, because it was so -- when I got to office, I campaigned on it, too. I said, we're going to make it.

And then I'd get calls from the leaders of various countries saying, please don't do it, please don't do it. It'll end the whole world. Please don't do it.

And finally, I just didn't say anything, and I did it. People were calling me before I did it because they heard I was going to do it. And leaders of countries were calling me.

And I think it was on a Thursday that I did it. And they'd call me Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, three, four times a day. And I said, tell them I'll call them back on Friday.

And I announced it on Thursday. And I called them back -- the biggest people in the world. And they said, you've done it.

I said, done what? You've made the capital of Israel, Jerusalem. And we wanted to talk at -- oh, I wish you'd called me a little sooner.

Maybe I could have done something about it. So, that was a lot easier than getting into an argument because I knew what they were calling about. And you know what? It turned out to be amazing. Everybody thought it was going to lead to the end of the world, right? The end of the world, Ron.

That's what they said. It didn't lead to anything. It just led to something that I promised and something that was very, very popular for, you know, Jewish people and a lot of other people, too.

I recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and I cut taxpayer funding to the corrupt United Nations Relief and Works Agency. And United Nations was interesting because, as you know, a few days ago, they introduced me. Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States -- I'm looking at my teleprompter, and the thing was dead, stone-cold dead.

The thing's up here. I have a long, beautiful speech to make. I'm back -- 30 feet back, and I'm saying -- they're introducing me. There's nothing on my teleprompter. So -- but I made a speech. I actually got good marks.

You think Biden could have done that? I don't think so. I don't think he could have done that.

I don't think too many people could have done it. But actually, it was actually more of a speech from my heart, if you want to know the truth. I think it was -- it was maybe better in certain ways because it was from the heart.

It has to be from the heart. Otherwise, you're in big trouble. But I cut taxpayer -- payer funding for that very corrupt United Nations relief and works agency, and nobody thought that would be done.

And withdrew from the horrible Iran nuclear deal that was imposed upon Israel by Barack Hussein Obama and Biden. And I don't think Biden knew anything about it, though. I don't think he knows anything about it now, actually, if you ask him. He'd say, what is that?

And we obliterated Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity, making it impossible for them to have a nuclear weapon, which they would have had probably in about two months from then. But I've never asked Israel to compromise its security.

But we had big, strong talk. Nobody has been better to Israel. No President has been better to Israel than Donald Trump.

But we had a long, strong talk, Bibi and I. And he understands it's time. It's time.

History has shown. And the people of Israel want it. And the people of the Middle East want it.

The people of -- enemies of Israel want it. But they don't have, really, too many enemies right now.

[14:50:00]

And you know what? Many countries have gained great respect for Israel, for the way they fight, for the job they do, including me. I had respect. You know what?

Many countries have gained great respect for Israel, for the way they fight, for the job they do, including me. I had respect anyway, but they gained respect. History has shown us that those who have relations with Israel have thrived, while those who have devoted resources and attention toward their destruction and even annihilation of Israel have languished. They haven't done well.

Israel is not going anywhere. They're going to coexist with other people and countries in the region, from Syria to Lebanon to Saudi Arabia.

The promise of a new Middle East is so clearly within our reach. This is the closest we've ever come to real peace, not fake peace, not political fool's peace. If we can get this difficult problem solved, the opportunities for all within that vast region of this world -- it's a vast region.

It's unlimited. The Abraham Accords show that all countries are better off when they communicate and work together and embrace new opportunities. I hope Jared and Steve and Susie and Marco and J.D. -- we have great people.

I hope you guys are going to work very hard to get these other countries in, because now they have no excuse. There's no longer an excuse. They were somewhere, as it is.

And I'll tell you, the four countries that went in, I give them tremendous credit, and it's worked out incredibly well for them. In the same spirit, I'm pleased to report that earlier today, we took another important step toward greater understanding of the region. A short time ago, we had a historic phone call in the Oval Office with Prime Minister Tani, who's really a great, great person.

So, we had a great talk, and I was on the phone, and Bibi was talking. Prime Minister Al-Tani was -- of Qatar -- was -- they really had a heart-to-heart conversation. It was a great conversation, I thought.

It was productive. It was everything that you need to have something turn out to be successful. And I want to thank Bibi, and I want to thank the Prime Minister. It was fantastic.

We agreed to launch a formal trilateral mechanism between Israel, Qatar, and the United States to begin a dialogue to enhance mutual security, correct misperceptions, and avoid future misgivings. And I want to thank Qatar, its leadership.

And the Amir is a fantastic person. I think, you know, I'm going to be his public relations man because I know him differently than a lot of people know him. But he wants peace.

He wants to see peace. And his people, and they really acknowledge the critical role that they've played as mediator. And again, we're not quite finished.

We have to get Hamas, but I think they're going to be able to do that. So now it's time for Hamas to accept the terms of the plan that we've put forward today. And again, this is a different Hamas than we were dealing with because, I guess, over 20,000 have been killed.

Their leadership has been killed three times over. So you're really dealing with different people than we've been dealing with over the last four years, five years. Everyone has done their part and come to the table in good faith.

Our Arab and Muslim partners are fully prepared to step up and fulfill their commitments for the benefit of the people of Gaza and the entire region. They're willing to step up and do a lot. They really are.

There are a lot of good people involved. Everyone wants to see -- everybody who wants to see an end to the violence and destruction should be united in calling for Hamas to accept the extremely fair proposal so that we can end the war and get us back our hostages right now and have everlasting peace. And I look forward to having relationships with everyone.

As the chairman of the board, I'll be involved. And we'll have meetings with some very smart people that'll be working over there to make sure that we haven't just been wasting time with an agreement that doesn't get done. The task of building peace will not be easy.

There are some of the hardest problems in the world to solve, and that's why it's been going on for so many centuries. But too many lives are at stake not to try. And this was more than a try.

I mean, I think this is something that gets done when you have every -- virtually every country. And these are powerful, powerful countries that have a lot of money, and the money can make things happen. A lot of countries try and they don't have any money.

These are very rich countries that can make things happen. So, together, we'll forge a much safer and more hopeful future for everybody, including Israel. And I want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for his partnership.

[14:55:00]

And I want to thank all of the leaders -- the kings and the emirs and the presidents and prime ministers, people I mentioned. And they've been absolutely fantastic to work with.

And it's just happened very quickly. It's happened from a couple of weeks before the -- I had a meeting -- a couple of meetings, but a couple of weeks before, we went to the United Nations, and we had some just -- we had some incredible meetings. It all came to place.

It all took place. And everybody wanted to be a part of it. I don't have anybody that's saying, we don't want anything to do with it.

It's just the opposite. And I'll tell you, a couple of years ago, a year ago, I don't think we would have had this kind of participation, Mr. VP, right? I don't think we would have had.

It's been amazing. The participation was 100 percent. Everybody wants to be a part of it.

And everybody -- those very strong countries, everybody wants it to work. So, BiBi, congratulations on this. This is -- I think this will be your crowning achievement, frankly, if this all works out.

We think it will. It's going to be your crowning achievement. And I want to thank you very much for being here.

Thank you. Please.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. Thank you. Mr. President, first, I want to thank you for graciously hosting me once again in the White House. And second, I want to thank you for your friendship and for your leadership. From Jerusalem to Tehran, from the Golan Heights to Gaza, you've proven time and again what I've said many times. You are the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House.

And, Mr. President, you and I both know it's not even close.

While you focus at home on making America great again, your leadership abroad is changing the world for the better, ending wars and advancing peace. I believe that today we're taking a critical step towards both ending the war in Gaza and setting the stage for dramatically advancing peace in the Middle East.

And I think beyond the Middle East in very important Muslim countries. I support your plan to end the war in Gaza, which achieves our war aims. It will bring back to Israel all our hostages, dismantle Hamas's military capabilities, end its political rule, and ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.

We would not have achieved this turning point without the courage and sacrifice of our incredibly brave soldiers. They fight like lions to defend the people of Israel, and they serve on the front line in the war between civilization and barbarism.

Mr. President, when our two countries stand shoulder to shoulder, we achieve the impossible. Just a few months ago, in Operation Rising Lion and Operation Midnight Hammer, we struck a decisive blow against Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program. Your bold decision to send those B-2s made the region safer and the world safer. Now, under your leadership, we're taking the next step to win the war and expand the peace.

Your plan is consistent with the five principles my government set for the end of the war and the day after Hamas. Everybody asks, what is your plan for the day after Hamas? Here's our plan -- passed it in the Cabinet.

All our hostages, both those who are alive and those who died, all of them will return home immediately. Hamas will be disarmed. Gaza will be demilitarized. Israel will retain security responsibility, including a security perimeter for the foreseeable future. And lastly, Gaza will have a peaceful civilian administration that is run neither by Hamas nor by the Palestinian Authority.

If Hamas agrees to your plan, Mr. President, the first step will be a modest withdrawal, followed by the release of all our hostages within 72 hours. The next step will be the establishment of an international body charged with fully disarming Hamas and demilitarizing Gaza ...

END