Hamas praises Donald Trump over peace deal - as Israeli Minister insists he 'deserves Nobel Peace Prize’
Sharren Haskel also slammed Sir Keir Starmer for "pathetic posturing" in recognising a Palestinian state
Hamas has praised the role of Donald Trump in the Gaza ceasefire deal, as an Israeli minister told LBC that the US President 'deserves the Nobel Peace Prize'.
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Senior Hamas figure Dr Basem Naim said that the ceasefire, which came into effect today, would not have been possible without Trump and insisted he needed to keep up pressure on Israel to adhere to the deal.
Dr Naim said: "Without the personal interference of President Trump in this case, I don't think that it would have happened to have reached the end of the war".
The supposed involvement of Tony Blair in a Palestinian administration was heavily criticised by the official.
"When it comes to Tony Blair, unfortunately, we Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims and maybe others around the world have bad memories of him", Dr Naim said.
"We can still remember his role in killing, causing thousands or millions of deaths to innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan".
The praise from Hamas comes after Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister also lavished praise upon Trump for the Gaza ceasefire deal, while slamming British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for recognising a Palestinian state during the negotiations.
Writing exclusively for LBC, Sharren Haskel has said that the US President must receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in bringing about the deal which will see Israeli hostages released in the next three days.
Ms Haskel wrote: "The Nobel Peace Prize should honour leadership that produces durable change, not empty symbolism. The events of this week - the cabinet approval of a Trump-backed plan, the imminent release of hostages, and the international architecture to monitor a ceasefire - are the kind of tangible outcomes the Prize was meant to acknowledge".
The Deputy Foreign Minister added: "For vision that linked peace to security, for the practical diplomacy that helped produce this emergency ceasefire and hostage plan, Donald Trump should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize."
Trump has openly coveted the prize for many months - with the White House hitting out at the Nobel committee when he was snubbed in favour of a Venezuelan opposition leader.
In response to the snub, Steven Cheung, the White House spokesperson, said on X: “President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives.
"He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will.
"The Nobel committee proved they place politics over peace.”
In contrast, the senior politician was excoriating in her criticism of UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron for recognising Palestine during the negotiations.
She called the move "pathetic posturing" and said the decision to do so "will go down in history as one of the most cack-handed and cowardly political decisions ever witnessed".
Ms Haskel concluded: "This decision by France, the UK, Australia and Canada prolonged the suffering of all and rewarded Hamas."
The ceasefire between the IDF and Hamas was enacted at 12pm local time (10am UK time), according to the Israeli military.
In a statement released on Telegram, the force said soldiers "began positioning themselves along the updated deployment lines" from 12:00 local time (10:00 BST).
"IDF troops in the Southern Command are deployed in the area and will continue to remove any immediate threat," it added.
It comes after an Israeli cabinet meeting on Friday ratified the deal after Israel and Hamas agreed to the initial phases of a plan to end fighting in Gaza in Egypt on Thursday.
The United Nations says it will begin ramping up deliveries of humanitarian aid into Gaza on Sunday.
Under the terms of the truce, Hamas has 72 hours to release all Israeli hostages — both alive and dead — in exchange for Israel freeing 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences, along with 1,700 Gazans detained after the October 7 attacks.
Donald Trump is expected to visit Israel on Monday following the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.
The US President is undergoing a medical examination today ahead of the trip.