Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presents President Trump with a letter nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize pic.twitter.com/JUzpU2ZPYz

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“This I didn’t know. Wow,” Trump said. “Thank you very much. Coming from you in particular this is very meaningful, thank you very much, Bibi.”

While Trump said he was honored to receive the nomination from the Israeli leader, Netanyahu is far from the first person to plug him for the award. At least a dozen people have said Trump should win the prize over the last decade.

Trump mentioned later his efforts to secure peace between India and Pakistan and between Rwanda and the Congo, along with Russia and Ukraine, saying, “I’m not happy with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin at all.”

The evening meeting was one of several that Netanyahu held Monday with Trump administration officials, including special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

While Trump and Netanyahu’s previous two meetings this year have included press engagements, this one was initially scheduled to be private. Eventually, the pre-dinner press engagement was added to the program.

The meetings between Netanyahu and Trump administration officials focused on Gaza, Iran, and regional developments, according to White House officials.

“The utmost priority for the president right now in the Middle East is to end the war in Gaza and to return all of the hostages,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during Monday’s press briefing. “There was a ceasefire proposal that Israel supports that was sent to Hamas, and we hope that they will agree to this proposal. We want to see all of the hostages released.”

Trump himself made similar remarks on Sunday.

“I think we’re close to a deal on Gaza. Could have it this week,” Trump told reporters. “I think there’s a good chance we have a deal with Hamas during the week pertaining to quite a few of the hostages.”

Iran remains top of mind as well, as that country recently agreed to a ceasefire deal with Israel that Trump aims to maintain following his dramatic June 21 strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“We have scheduled Iran talks,” Trump said, adding that he plans to have a meeting with the country’s leaders soon. “They want to talk. They took a big drubbing, I think, when we hit the three [nuclear] sites.”

Netanyahu’s recent visits have coincided with protests at the White House, and Monday was no different. Authorities fenced off Lafayette Square, located just north of the executive mansion, ahead of the event, but protest activity was still heavy in the area.

Protests began Sunday night, a full 24 hours before the scheduled meeting and dinner between the two world leaders, and were led by the left-leaning feminist antiwar organization Code Pink. One protester wore a mask of Netanyahu and was dressed in a prison uniform. The Israeli prime minister spent Sunday night at Blair House, within shouting distance of the protests.

“We’re so disgusted that this will be the third time since Trump is back in office that Netanyahu is here,” Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin said in a statement. “We hope they’re going to announce a ceasefire, but we have no faith in Israel.”

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Netanyahu spoke about Gaza on Monday, saying its residents should have a “free choice” to stay in the strip or to leave.

“It shouldn’t be a prison,” he said. “It should be an open place and give people a free choice.”

Regarding a two-state solution, Netanyahu said that Palestinians should have all the powers to govern themselves “but none of the powers to threaten us,” hoping for a broad peace that transcends the region.

Netanyahu will meet with Vice President JD Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and other members of Congress on Tuesday. He will then meet with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday.