US President Donald Trump received a hero’s welcome at Israel’s Parliament, the Knesset, on Monday, hours after Hamas released the last 20 hostages as part of a US-brokered ceasefire that has brought an end to two years of war in Gaza.

Speaker Amir Ohana hailed Trump as the “President of peace”.

In his reply, US President Donald Trump told the Knesset that he was a man driven not by conflict but by the desire to end it.

“When you settle eight wars in eight months, it really means you don’t like wars. Everyone thought I was going to be brutal. Hillary Clinton said I would go to war with everybody. But I think my personality is about stopping war,” Trump said, drawing loud applause from Israeli parliamentarians.

His speech was interrupted when two lawmakers, Aymen Odeh and Ofer Cassif, displayed signs reading “Recognise Palestine” and shouted slogans accusing Israel of genocide.

Security personnel removed them from the chamber. “Sorry about that, Mr President,” the Knesset speaker said. Trump responded, “That was efficient,” drawing laughter and applause.

Netanyahu, in his address, thanked Trump for his support during the war and for US-Israel military cooperation.

He referred to recent strikes — Operation Rising Lion and Operation Midnight Hammer — conducted by Israel and the US against Iran, praising Trump for recognising Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and for “standing up against lies against Israel” at the United Nations.

“Israel did what it had to do to defend its people, with heroic soldiers who fought like lions,” Netanyahu said.

“Now you can be a bit nicer, Bibi, because you’re not at war,” Trump told the Israeli prime minister with a smile as the Knesset once again broke into applause.

Trump, who arrived in Israel earlier in the day on Air Force One, was greeted with a red carpet reception in Tel Aviv before travelling to Jerusalem for his address to the Knesset.

The visit marks the formal celebration of the ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, which Trump declared had “effectively ended the war” and opened the door to “a durable peace in the Middle East.”

In his speech, Trump praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, beginning with, “Thank you very much, Bibi. Great job.”

He said, “After so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a holy land that is finally at peace, a land and a region that will live, God willing, in peace for all eternity.”

Trump declared, “This is not only the end of a war. This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East.”

The Knesset responded with standing ovations, cheers, and chants of “Trump.”

Speaker Amir Ohana went on to call Trump a “giant of Jewish history,” comparing him to Cyrus the Great, who allowed Jews to return to Israel and rebuild the Second Temple in the sixth century BCE.

“What the world needs now is not appeasers who feed the crocodile in the hope that they will be eaten last, like we have seen at the UN General Assembly,” Ohana said. “What the world needs now are more leaders who are brave, resolute, strong, and bold. The world needs more Trumps.”

Ohana announced that Israel’s parliament will rally support from legislative leaders across the world to submit Trump’s candidacy for the Nobel Peace Prize next year.

“There was not a single person on this planet who did more than you to advance peace. No one even came close,” he said. “Through your strength of character and unwavering resolve, you brought an end to bloody conflicts in no fewer than eight regions across the globe. In less than nine months, you became one of the most consequential presidents in history.”

Trump, whose desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize is well known, was pleased as the Knesset applauded for several minutes.

In his remarks, Trump remembered the victims of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that triggered the war. “Never forget, and never again,” he said.

He thanked the Arab and Muslim nations that mediated the hostage deal. “We had a lot of help from a lot of people that you wouldn’t suspect, and I want to thank them very much for that. It’s an incredible triumph for Israel and the world to have all of these nations working together as partners in peace,” he said.

“The hostages are back. It feels so good to say it,” Trump added, crediting “great American patriots” for helping achieve the ceasefire.

Calling Trump “the greatest friend the State of Israel has ever had in the White House,” Netanyahu said, “Thanks to Trump’s unequivocal backing of Israel, we secured a second hostage deal within weeks of your election.”

Trump also acknowledged his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner for their role in brokering the ceasefire, calling Witkoff “Henry Kissinger who doesn’t leak.”

Later today, Trump will travel to Egypt to co-chair a summit with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and more than 20 other world leaders on the future of Gaza and the broader Middle East.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel began releasing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners on Monday, hours after Hamas freed the 20 remaining Israeli hostages.

The first phase of the agreement includes the release of the final 48 hostages held by Hamas, a surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from major cities.

The freed hostages, all men, are undergoing medical checks before reuniting with their families. The bodies of 28 other hostages are expected to be handed over soon as part of the deal.