In a highly anticipated and dramatic speech, President Donald Trump stood before both houses of Congress in Washington last night (Tuesday-Wednesday) and announced: “We are bringing our hostages home—and working to expand the Abraham Accords.” The event was attended by former hostages, survivors of captivity, and families of those still held.
Trump has already proven to be a great supporter of Israel, in both deed and rhetoric.
On Sunday, 2 March Prime Minister Benjamin said:
“I want to thank President Trump for his unwavering support for Israel. During my recent visit to Washington, I said that Donald Trump is the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House. And President Trump shows that friendship each and every day. He has shown it through his visionary plan for Gaza, this is a plan which Israel fully supports. He’s shown it by sending us all the munitions that were being held up. This way he is giving Israel the tools we need to finish the job against Iran’s terror axis. And he has shown it by fully backing Israel and putting the pressure to release the hostages where it truly belongs – on Hamas”.
“The Middle East: A Tough Neighborhood”
Trump spoke about the challenges in the Middle East, calling it a tough neighborhood and briefly addressed the hostage crisis: “In the Middle East, we are bringing back our hostages from Gaza.”
He also mentioned the game changing Abraham Accords, a series of treaties normalizing diplomatic relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco, facilitated by the U.S. between August and December, 2020.
“In my first term, we achieved one of the most groundbreaking peace agreements in generations, the Abraham Accords”, Trump said. “And now we’re going to build on that foundation to create a more peaceful and prosperous future for the entire region” .
Hostages and Their Families
Despite the dramatic declarations, former hostages and families of those still in captivity have yet to meet with Trump or senior administration officials. Meetings are scheduled to take place throughout the day (Wednesday), including with special envoy Steve Witkoff, but as of now, no direct meeting with Trump himself has been confirmed.
“Golden Dome”: U.S. Plans for Missile Defense
Among other topics, Trump announced his plans to develop a new defense initiative in the U.S. called “Golden Dome”, a system modeled after Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense.
