Trump says Hamas will have ‘very short period’ to disarm or ‘there’ll be hell to pay’<\/p>\n
Trump<\/strong> says they talked about Hamas<\/strong> and disarmament<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Hamas \u201cwill be given a very short period to disarm\u201d<\/strong>, he says, \u201cand we\u2019ll see how that works out.\u201d<\/p>\n But if they don\u2019t disarm \u2013 as they agreed to do, they agreed to it \u2013 then there\u2019ll be hell to pay for them.<\/p>\n And we don\u2019t want that. But they have to disarm within a fairly short period of time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Asked about Lebanon\u2019s<\/strong> efforts to disarm Hezbollah<\/strong> and whether Israel<\/strong> should strike Hezbollah again, Trump says:<\/p>\n Hezbollah\u2019s been behaving badly so we\u2019ll see what happens.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Asked if he and Netanyahu<\/strong> have an understanding on Syria, Trump<\/strong> says: \u201cWe do have an understanding regarding Syria.\u201d<\/p>\n Calling Syria\u2019s president Ahmed al-Sharaa<\/strong> a \u201cvery strong guy\u201d that he respects, he adds:<\/p>\n I\u2019m sure that him and Israel will get along. I will try and make it so that they get along.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Trump<\/strong> says he\u2019s \u201cnot concerned\u201d about Israel\u2019s actions<\/strong>, with regards to moving to phase two of the Gaza ceasefire plan.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not concerned about anything that Israel is doing.<\/strong> I\u2019m concerned about what other people are doing or maybe aren\u2019t doing, but I\u2019m not concerned. They\u2019ve lived up to the plan. They\u2019re strong.<\/p>\n Israel has lived up to the plan, 100%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Earlier we reported<\/a> that senior officials in the Trump administration are reportedly frustrated with Netanyahu \u201cundermin[ing] the fragile ceasefire and stall[ing] the peace process\u201d, as he is refusing to further withdraw Israeli troops from Gaza until Hamas disarms.<\/p>\n The second phase of the deal includes Israel\u2019s further withdrawal, Hamas\u2019 disarmament, the beginning of reconstruction of Gaza<\/a> and the establishment of its interim postwar governing body.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump says Iran may be using new sites to rebuild its nuclear program, adding that US will ‘very quickly eradicate that build-up’<\/p>\n Trump<\/strong> says he hopes Iran<\/strong> isn\u2019t trying to build up its missile programme again, adding:<\/p>\n If they are, we\u2019re going to have no choice but very quickly to eradicate that build-up.<\/strong><\/p>\n I hope Iran is not trying to build up, as I\u2019ve been reading, that they\u2019re building up weapons and other things, and if they are, they\u2019re not using the sites that we obliterated, but they\u2019re using possibly different sites<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Trump says he knows \u201cwhat they\u2019re doing\u201d and \u201cwe can\u2019t let them build up again\u201d.<\/p>\n He adds that he doesn\u2019t want to \u201cwaste a lot of fuel\u201d<\/strong> that would be required to send US bombers there for a second attack.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.35 EST<\/p>\n Trump says he and Netanyahu don’t fully agree on West Bank<\/p>\n Asked about Israel\u2019s<\/strong> actions in the occupied West Bank<\/strong> and whether settler violence is undermining the peace process, Trump<\/strong> says<\/strong> he and Netanyahu \u201cdon\u2019t agree on the West Bank 100%<\/strong>, but we\u2019ll come to a conclusion on the West Bank\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe will do the right thing,\u201d he adds, gesturing towards Netanyahu.<\/p>\n Trump didn\u2019t go into details during this press conference about what their disagreement is, but he did say back in September that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.34 EST<\/p>\n Trump says Hamas will have ‘very short period’ to disarm or ‘there’ll be hell to pay’<\/p>\n Trump<\/strong> says they talked about Hamas<\/strong> and disarmament<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Hamas \u201cwill be given a very short period to disarm\u201d<\/strong>, he says, \u201cand we\u2019ll see how that works out.\u201d<\/p>\n But if they don\u2019t disarm \u2013 as they agreed to do, they agreed to it \u2013 then there\u2019ll be hell to pay for them.<\/p>\n And we don\u2019t want that. But they have to disarm within a fairly short period of time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n According to the Jerusalem Post, the prize is the state of Israel\u2019s highest civilian honor and has been awarded on rare occasion to non-Israelis before.<\/p>\n The only exception is the prize for \u201cspecial contribution towards the Jewish people,\u201d which, based on what Netanyahu just said, will justify Trump receiving the award.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.15 EST<\/p>\n Netanyahu<\/strong> says they\u2019re awarding the Israel prize<\/strong> to Donald Trump<\/strong>, adding that this was formally announced over lunch, \u201cfor his tremendous contributions to Israel and the Jewish people\u201d.<\/p>\n Trump responds calling the award \u201creally surprising and very much appreciated\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.38 EST<\/p>\n Trump and Netanyahu give joint press conference<\/p>\n Trump<\/strong> and Netanyahu<\/strong> are now speaking to the media following their meeting in Mar-a-Lago.<\/p>\n Trump says they \u201ccame to a lot of conclusions\u201d.<\/p>\n Netanyahu thanks Trump again for being such a good friend to Israel<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.53 EST<\/p>\n Herzog’s office issues swift denial after Trump claims Netanyahu pardon ‘on its way’<\/p>\n As we reported earlier<\/a>, Isaac Herzog<\/strong>\u2019s office was quick to challenge Donald Trump<\/strong>\u2019s assertion that the Israeli president had told him a pardon for PM Benjamin Netanyahu<\/strong> was \u201con its way\u201d.<\/p>\n Reuters reports that, asked about the US president\u2019s remarks, Herzog\u2019s office said he had not had any conversations with Trump since a pardon request was submitted several weeks ago<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Herzog\u2019s office said he had spoken to a representative for Trump then and it was explained that any decision would be made in accordance with established procedures.<\/p>\n Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst\/Reuters<\/p>\n Netanyahu, Israel\u2019s first sitting prime minister to be charged with a crime, denies bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges dating back to his 2019 indictment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n His own request for a pardon, submitted on 30 November, argued that frequent court hearings impair his ability to govern and that clemency serves the national interest.<\/p>\n The request drew fierce criticism from Netanyahu\u2019s opponents, who said that pardoning him mid-trial would be a total breach of the rule of law.<\/p>\n According to Israeli law, the president has authority to pardon convicts. But there is no precedent for issuing a pardon mid-trial.<\/p>\n Netanyahu\u2019s pardon quest has been boosted by Trump, a close ally who wrote a formal letter to Herzog in November urging him to grant clemency and describing the case as \u201cpolitical, unjustified prosecution\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.34 EST<\/p>\n ‘We hit the area,’ says Trump regarding possible attack in Venezuela<\/p>\n Further to our earlier report<\/a> on Trump\u2019s comments on Venezuela, we have some more details of his quotes.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hit all the boats, and now we hit the area \u2026 it\u2019s the implementation area. That\u2019s where they implement, and that is no longer around.\u201d<\/p>\n It was not immediately clear what target was hit nor which part of the US government acted.<\/p>\n Asked if the CIA had carried out the attack, Trump said: \u201cI don\u2019t want to say that. I know exactly who it was but I don\u2019t want to say who it was.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.21 EST<\/p>\n The US and Israeli delegations seated opposite each other in the dining room at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.<\/strong><\/p>\n Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu with their delegations. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst\/Reuters<\/p>\n On Trump\u2019s side is secretary of state Marco Rubio, <\/strong>defense secretary Pete Hegseth<\/strong>; White House chief of staff Susie Wiles<\/strong>, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff General Dan Caine<\/strong>, White House deputy chiefs of staff Stephen Miller<\/strong> and Dan Scavino<\/strong>, envoy Steve Witkoff<\/strong>, <\/strong>and Jared Kushner<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Trump told reporters before they were ushered out of the room:<\/p>\n We made a lot of progress already. We had about a five-minute meeting, and we\u2019ve already settled about three of the difficulties<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Trump said five major issues would be discussed, including Gaza. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.35 EST<\/p>\n Trump says Israel’s president told him Netanyahu pardon ‘on its way’<\/p>\n Trump<\/strong> also says he spoke to Israeli president Isaac Herzog<\/strong>, who told him that a pardon for Benjamin Netanyahu<\/strong> was \u201con its way.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s a wartime prime minister who\u2019s a hero. How do you not give a pardon? I spoke to the president … he tells me it\u2019s on its way<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The New York Times reported that Herzog\u2019s office quickly denied that any decision had been made and said a decision was weeks away, at a minimum.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.00 EST<\/p>\n Netanyahu<\/strong> says of his relationship with Trump<\/strong>:<\/p>\n We\u2019ve never had a friend by President Trump in the White House.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not even close. And I think you can judge that by the not merely by the frequency of our meetings, but by the content and the intensity.<\/p>\n I think Israel is very blessed to have President Trump leading the United States, and I\u2019ll say leading the free world, at this time.<\/p>\n I think it\u2019s not merely Israel\u2019s great fortune. I think it\u2019s the world\u2019s great fortune.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to reporters alongside Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Photograph: Alex Brandon\/APShare<\/a>Trump says he was ‘very angry’ about alleged attack on Putin’s residence<\/p>\n Asked about Russia\u2019s<\/strong> accusation that Ukraine<\/strong> tried to attack Vladimir Putin<\/strong>\u2019s residence in northern Russia, which Kyiv has denied, Trump says:<\/p>\n I don\u2019t like it.<\/strong> It\u2019s not good. I heard about it this morning \u2026 President Putin told me about it \u2026 He said he was attacked, it\u2019s no good<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n He adds:<\/p>\n It\u2019s one thing to be offensive, because they\u2019re offensive. It\u2019s another thing to attack his house. It\u2019s not the right time to do any of that \u2026 I was very angry about it<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Ukraine\u2019s president Volodymyr Zelenksyy<\/strong> has described the claim as \u201ctypical Russian lies\u201d<\/strong>, and said Moscow was using \u201cdangerous statements\u201d to undermine \u201cdiplomatic efforts\u201d with the US<\/strong> to end its invasion of his country.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.55 EST<\/p>\n Asked about Ran Gvili<\/strong>, the last hostage still inside Gaza<\/a> after being taken captive by Hamas and whose parents have accompanied Netanyahu to Florida to meet Trump, the US president says:<\/p>\n We\u2019re doing everything we can to get his body back.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
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