In his Time Magazine Man of the Year interview, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump touched on a wide range of issues, including the ongoing war in Gaza and his vision for resolving conflicts in the Middle East.
Trump expressed optimism about the prospects for peace in the region, stating, “The Middle East is going to be solved. The Middle East has been - it’s a horrible thing. October 7 was a horrible thing. Everyone is forgetting conveniently about October 7, but that was a horrible day for the world, not just for Israel, for the world.” He added, “As we speak, things are happening very productively in the Middle East. I think it’s more complicated than the Russia-Ukraine situation, but I think it’s easier to solve.”
While acknowledging that he has not received any direct assurances from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war, Trump said, “I think he feels very confident in me, and I think he knows I want it to end. I want everything to end.”
When asked about his stance on a two-state solution, Trump responded, “I support a plan of peace, and it can take different forms. When I did the Abraham Accords, that should have been loaded up with countries. I made a statement. I think they [the current administration] didn’t add one country. Think of it. They didn’t add one country to the Abraham Accords. We had four very important countries, but that should have been expanded.”
Trump also hinted at exploring alternatives to the two-state solution: “There are other ideas other than two states, but I support whatever is necessary to get not just peace—a lasting peace. It can’t go on where every five years you end up in tragedy. There are other alternatives.”
* Arutz 7 contributed to this article.
