US President Donald Trump delivered a sweeping address to Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, on Monday, declaring “the end of war, the end of the era of terror and death,” while veering repeatedly off-script in remarks that mixed triumph, improvisation, and political provocation – including a surprise call for President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who remains on trial for corruption.

Trump landed in Israel just as the 20 living hostages kidnapped by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, still being held captive in Gaza were freed. The bodies of 28 deceased hostages were expected to be released later in the day, but reports emerged that only four would be returned.

The US president opened his speech by poking fun at those who took the floor before him – including Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Netanyahu, and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid – for taking too long in their own speeches, causing him to be late for a planned summit in Egypt with world leaders about the future of Gaza.

“Who knows if they’ll still be there when I get there?” he quipped.

Trump praised Israelis, saying that “only a proud and faithful people could withstand” the torment of the past two years. The Oct. 7 attack, in which more than 1,200 people were murdered and 251 taken hostage, was “one of the most evil and heinous desecrations of innocent life the world has ever seen,” he said, adding that the atrocities “struck to the core of humanity itself.”

But he went on to say that “today the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace.”

The entire Middle East hoped to see “the disarmament of Hamas,” Trump said, referring to the internationally designated terrorist group. “Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel.”

Hamas seized control of Gaza nearly two decades ago, following Israel’s total military and civilian withdrawal from the enclave.

“People are dancing in the streets – not just in Israel – about what is happening today,” Trump said, referring to the jubilation over the hostage release as part of the US-brokered ceasefire to halt fighting in Gaza.

“What a victory it’s been,’ he added, thanking “the almighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

The president said the expansion of the Abraham Accords — which he jokingly referred to by its Hebrew pronunciation — was imminent. “Avraham, it’s so cool. So much, sorta, nicer. The Abraham, versus the Avraham.”

He even suggested that Iran could join the historic accords to normalize relations with Israel, asking Netanyahu, “Would you be happy with that? Wouldn’t it be nice?”

“I think they want to. I think they’re tired,” Trump said, adding that Iran was not resuming its nuclear program. “The last thing they want to do is start digging holes again in mountains that just got blown up.”

“They want to survive, OK?”

Iran, whose leaders regularly call for the destruction of Israel, on Saturday dismissed the idea of joining the accords, saying it was “wishful thinking.”

In his speech, Trump described Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East who led the hostage negotiations, as a “Henry Kissinger who doesn’t leak.”

Addressing Herzog directly, Trump said, “I have an idea, why don’t you give Netanyahu a pardon?”

Netanyahu is currently on trial on corruption charges, including fraud and breach of trust for accepting luxury gifts.

“Netanyahu was one of the best [leaders] during wartime,” Trump said, dismissing the charges against the premier. “Cigars and champagne? Who cares?”

His comments prompted laughs and whispers through the plenum. 

He also praised Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, saying “he’s a very nice opposition leader” and, addressing Netanyahu by his nickname, added, Lapid “is a nice man. Bibi, he’s a nice man.”

“Now you can be a little bit nicer because you’re not at war anymore, Bibi,” Trump quipped.

At one stage, a commotion broke out when Trump’s speech was interrupted by Ayman Odeh and Ofer Cassif, two lawmakers from the Arab Joint List party who held up a sign calling on the US president to “Recognize Palestine.”

After the two were removed fairly quickly, Trump said, “That was very efficient.”

Hadash-Ta’al MKs Ayman Odeh and Ofer Cassif removed from Trump’s speech after holding up signs calling to “recognize Palestine.”

Trump quips that the ejection was “very efficient.” pic.twitter.com/0tvs7JbSAS

— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) October 13, 2025

Trump left for the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt just after 4 pm local time, telling the Knesset that he was going “meet with the most powerful, the richest nations in the world.”

Netanyahu received a last-minute Trump-brokered invitation from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi but declined, citing the pending Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah which was set to begin on Monday evening. 

It was the first time Sisi spoke to Netanyahu since the start of the war two years ago.

As Trump wrapped up his speech, footage began circulating on social media showing buses of released Palestinian prisoners departing from Ofer Prison in the West Bank.

According to the terms of the ceasefire, 1,950 Palestinian security prisoners, including 250 serving life sentences for deadly terrorist attacks, as well as 1,700 Palestinians arrested since Oct. 7, 2023, were slated for release. 

A violent incident disrupted preparations for the exchange the night before, when one of the inmates slated for release attacked a female guard, leaving her injured. Prison staff quickly restrained the assailant, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the attacker would be removed from the release list, with another prisoner chosen to take his place.

Some Israelis – including Zvika Mor, the father of hostage Eitan Mor who was released on Monday morning – are bitterly opposed to the release of prisoners. 

A day before his son’s release, the older Mor said his son would support his father’s staunch opposition to previous hostage-ceasefire deals.

“In our home, we educated our kids to risk their lives for the people of Israel, for the State of Israel. If Eitan hadn’t been taken hostage, he would have fought in Gaza, and then he, too, would have been required to risk his life,” he told Israel’s Army Radio. 

“The deal is very far from what we wished for the State of Israel, because we have to pay for our hostages with 250 terrorists with life sentences — murderers who will no doubt go back to murdering Israelis,” he added.

Brenda Lemkus, whose daughter Dalia was murdered in a 2014 stabbing attack in the West Bank, joined other bereaved relatives from the Choosing Life group — which opposes prisoner releases — in condemning the decision to release her daughter’s killer.

“Releasing him invites the next murder immediately,” Lemkus said. “The blood of those murdered is on the ministers who voted for this.” She called on Israel to institute the death penalty for terrorists.

Michael Nurzhitz, brother of reservist Vadim Nurzhitz, said that while he was happy for the hostages and their families, releasing Raed Sheikh — the terrorist and Palestinian police officer responsible for his brother’s murder — was “unfathomable,” especially ahead of the 25th anniversary of the incident.

Vadim Nurzhitz and fellow Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reservist Yossi Avrahami were lynched in Ramallah on Oct. 12, 2000, after accidentally entering the city and being taken into custody at a Palestinian police station.

“If they release the murderer, the terrorist will return to terror, just like those released in the Shalit deal — they will return to murder us,” Nurzhitz said, referring to the 2011 exchange that freed Gilad Shalit in return for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including Yahya Sinwar, who later masterminded Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.

Choosing Life petitioned the High Court against the move, saying “the blood of our children has turned into a tradable commodity.”

Eliya Atias, however, whose son Eden was stabbed to death while he was sleeping in 2013, said the release of his son’s murderer was a sacrifice she “felt good” about making if it meant freeing the hostages. 

“I am a believing Jew who believes that the Creator will pay him back,” she said. “I feel that thanks to my act, I am saving the lives of my brothers in Gaza.”