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In a bid to end the war in Gaza, France and other Western allies moved to recognize statehood of Palestine, a move that has been heavily criticized by Israel and the US. Amid the backlash, speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters that Donald Trump should only win a Nobel Prize if he can bring an end to Israel’s war on Gaza.
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Weeks later, President Donald Trump shared a 20-point peace plan for Gaza with Israel and Hamas – a proposal that could potentially bring an end to the two-year war, which has claimed over 67,000 lives.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to announce that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of the Gaza peace plan.
“BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!” said Trump as he announced the deal.
This first phase, which is expected to come into effect on Thursday, will see the release of all 48 hostages in Hamas’ captivity, including the 20 believed to be alive. In exchange of these hostages, Israel will release around 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned or detained.
Trump’s timing for the Gaza peace plan coincides with the announcement of the Nobel Prizes for the year 2025. Among the six prizes, Trump has been eyeing the Peace Prize since his return to the White House.
Trump hailed as ‘President of Peace’
Since taking over as POTUS, Trump has been vocal about his ambitions to win a Nobel Peace Prize. On multiple occasions, the US President has claimed that he has ended multiple wars and conflicts, for which Republicans hail him as the “President of Peace.”
From the military standoff between India and Pakistan, and Thailand and Cambodia, to the 12-day war between Iran and Israel, Trump has repeatedly demanded that he be awarded the top prize for making the world “peaceful.”
Also Read | Donald Trump now claims he ‘stopped’ 7 wars. What are they?
Trump also made a similar bid while addressing leaders at the UN General Assembly last month and claimed he “deserved the Nobel Prize.”
Following the announcement of the breakthrough in truce talks, the White House also went all out in praises for Trump and posted a portrait of him with the caption – The Peace President.
If the ceasefire is successfully implemented, we can expect Trump to once again renew his bid for a Peace Prize. During his election campaign in 2024, the Republican leader has time and again stated that he can bring an end to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
While the talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin did not yield the result Trump wanted, his pressure on Israel seems to have worked.
Also Read | Will Donald Trump win Nobel Peace Prize or someone else? These are the frontrunners
Is Trump closer to a Nobel Prize now?
It depends. If the deal is implemented successfully, Trump’s wish for “peace in the Middle East” may just put him in the hall of fame. However, Israel’s intent remains unclear and raises many questions.
In past ceasefires, Israel has been notorious for violating agreements and resuming the war in Gaza, with each resumption being more aggressive than the last.
“Ensuring that they [Israel] comply by the terms, that they don’t go back to the fighting and reimpose the siege – that they actually allow not only aid but commercial goods and people to flow across the border – is going to be something that I think we are not quite there yet,” said Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, director of Israel-Palestine at US-based rights group Dawn, adding that this deal could have been reached at any point over the last two years, but wasn’t because Israel has not fully complied to the previous truce deals.
Furthermore, hours after the ceasefire breakthrough, Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, said he would not vote in favour of the truce, adding that Hamas must be destroyed the minute all hostages are released.
“Immediately after the hostages return home, the state of Israel will continue to strive with all its might for the true eradication of Hamas and the genuine disarmament of Gaza, so that it no longer poses a threat to Israel,” Smotrich said in a post on X.
For the past month, Trump has harped about his success in ending conflicts and wars. But it remains unclear if he negotiated an end or bullied countries into accepting his deal or “face consequences.”
Also Read | Trump makes ‘peacekeeper cause of tariffs’ pitch ahead of Nobel announcement
Several analysts have also hinted that Trump may have used bullying tactics to advance the Gaza deal. Mouin Rabbani, a non-resident fellow with the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, said that the US used bullying tactics to get this far into the negotiation process.
He told Al Jazeera that the president warned Hamas and told them to accept the plan “unconditionally or face total obliteration.”
Can he win?
The Nobel Peace Prize 2025 is set to be announced on October 10, 2025. The US President has been nominated by Pakistan, Israel, Cambodia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Along with these countries, Rwanda and Gabon have also backed a nomination for Trump.
If he secures the prize, which may seem unlikely this year, Trump will join Jimmy Carter, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Barack Obama.
And if he doesn’t, we can expect an angry capital-lettered rant on Truth Social.
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