Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday told United States President Donald Trump that he had nominated him for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, Reuters reported.
Netanyahu personally handed Trump the nomination letter when the two met at the White House.
“He’s forging peace as we speak, one country and one region after the other,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying by AP as he presented the letter.
Trump said in response to the announcement that the nomination was a great honour. “Coming from you in particular, this is very meaningful,” he told Netanyahu.
The two leaders met on Monday to discuss last month’s conflict between Israel and Iran, and to take forward a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.
Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire on June 24 after 12 days of hostilities that saw Israel and the United States attack Iran and face Iranian retaliation. The US had entered the war on June 22, carrying out attacks on the nuclear sites of Fordo, Natanz and Esfahan in Iran.
On July 1, Trump said that Israel had agreed to the “necessary conditions” to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas. He had said that during this period, “we will work with all parties to end the War”.
Apart from claiming a role in putting a stop to conflicts in Iran and Gaza, Trump has also repeatedly claimed that he helped settle tensions between India and Pakistan following a four-day conflict in May. India, however, maintained that the decision to stop hostilities was taken by the two countries directly.
In June, Trump had said that he should get the Nobel Prize “four or five times”, claiming that he helped end several global conflicts around the world.
"They should give me the Nobel Prize for Rwanda and, if you look, the Congo, or you could say Serbia, Kosovo, you could say a lot of them,” he said, according to Fox News. “The big one is India and Pakistan. I should have gotten it four or five times.”
The winner of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize is expected to be announced in October 2026.
The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize is selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. The five-member panel is appointed by the Norwegian Parliament.
