Exclusive
Donald Trump is 'shaking up our region', says Israel's president as he 'reveals US leader's strategy' in Middle East
17 February 2025, 11:03 | Updated: 17 February 2025, 14:08
Donald Trump is 'shaking up our region', Israel's president has said as he revealed the US leader's strategy in the Middle East.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Mr Herzog said Donald Trump was offering a "real hope" of peace.
He said the US president's tactic was "calling the bluff of all the partners concerned".
"As you can see, in the first month of Donald Trump, he's definitely shaking up our region," Mr Herzog told LBC.
"And I hope there will be a trajectory of moving forward, of offering a real hope to the people of the region.
"We've gone through this vicious cycle again and again.
"Terror attacks after terror attacks, then the horrific October 7, then war, then ceasefire.
"But what's next? How do we make sure that this doesn't recur for decades?
"This recurs because of terror, because of this jihadist notion that we prefer dying rather than living, but we are a nation that prefers living rather than dying."
Read more: Hamas backs down over Israeli hostage deal threat amid fears ceasefire will collapse
Watch Again: Nick Ferrari is joined by President of Israel Isaac Herzog | 17/02/25
He said "arch terrorists" are being released by Israel to get back sons and daughters as part of the ceasefire deal.
"We are extremely worried about the children, the Bibas kids, and we are worried about the elderly, 86-year-old Mr Shlomo Mansour and others, Oded Lifshitz and others, and of course, ordinary people who are taken from their beds on October 7," Mr Herzog said.
"We have to find a mechanism to condense the process and see how we make sure that this vicious cycle doesn't recur."
Asked what the strategy between Mr Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be, Mr Herzog said: "I don't want to go into the details because, as president, I'm not in the executive.
"The strategy, as I see it... is calling the bluff of all the partners concerned and saying, 'guys, you want to repeat the same mistake again and again? You want more bloodshed or you want to change the course of history to something else?'"
Israel receives three hostages after Hamas releases them to Red Cross in Gaza
Mr Netanyahu on Sunday signalled that he was moving ahead with Mr Trump's proposal to transfer the Palestinian population out of Gaza, calling it "the only viable plan to enable a different future" for the region.
He discussed the plan with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who kicked off a Middle East visit by endorsing Israel's war aims in Gaza, saying Hamas "must be eradicated".
That created further doubt around the shaky ceasefire as talks on its second phase are yet to begin.
Mr Rubio, in his upcoming stops in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, is likely to face more pushback from Arab leaders over Mr Trump's proposal, which includes redeveloping Gaza under US ownership.
Mr Netanyahu has said all emigration from Gaza should be "voluntary", but rights groups and other critics say that the plan amounts to coercion given the territory's vast destruction.
Mr Netanyahu said he and Mr Trump have a "common strategy" for Gaza.
Echoing the US president, he said "the gates of hell would be open" if Hamas does not release dozens of remaining hostages abducted in the militant group's attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, that triggered the 16-month war.
The ceasefire's first phase ends in two weeks.
