LONDON: In what supporters have called a symbol of solidarity and detractors a humiliating act of fealty, Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week revealed he had nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize \u2014 an award long sought by the US president.<\/p>\n
The decision by Netanyahu appears designed to help bolster ties between the two long-term allies and ease reported tensions over Israel\u2019s 21-month-long war in Gaza and its bruising 12-day conflict with Iran last month.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu presented the nomination letter to Trump at the White House on Monday, and was met with a look of surprise from the US president.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nominating you for the Peace Prize, which is well deserved, and you should get it,\u201d Netanyahu said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWow, coming from you, in particular, this is very meaningful. Thank you very much, Bibi,\u201d Trump responded.<\/p>\n
For Dania Koleilat Khatib, a specialist in US-Arab relations, Netanyahu\u2019s decision to nominate the president rests on his desire to \u201cdo anything to court Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n
She told Arab News that Netanyahu arrived in Washington with a set of demands covering almost every regional file of interest to Israel: Syria, Turkiye, Gaza, the West Bank and Iran.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu is also seeking US guarantees relating to arms supplies, especially after Iran\u2019s ballistic missile barrages last month placed substantial pressure on Israeli air defense systems, Khatib said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants to show Trump that he is the best ally he can have; he also knows that Trump is really looking after getting the Nobel Peace Prize,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Trump has made no secret of his yearning for the prestigious prize, yet the nomination itself is only the first part of an extensive, secret process that winds up in the stately committee room of Oslo\u2019s Nobel Institute.<\/p>\n
The distinction and tradition of the Nobel name, however, is arguably a far cry from the reputation of Trump\u2019s nominator.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu, alongside former defense minister Yoav Gallant, is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to the conduct of Israel\u2019s military in Gaza.<\/p>\n
That fact would no doubt weigh on the minds of the five Norwegian Nobel Committee members who deliberate over the prize.<\/p>\n
For Khatib, the ICC arrest warrant alone means that Netanyahu\u2019s gesture is \u201cworthless.\u201d<\/p>\n
She told Arab News: \u201cI am not sure whether the nomination will be discarded but it is ironic that someone wanted by the ICC for alleged war crimes and potentially genocide nominates someone for the Nobel Peace Prize.\u201d<\/p>\n
Upholding the reputation of the prize is a tall order, in part due to the strictness of its rules. The committee\u2019s choice for the annual award effectively ties the Nobel name to the future reputation of any recipient. The Nobel Foundation\u2019s Statutes also forbid the revocation of any award.<\/p>\n
Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese icon of democracy, fell from grace over her treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority in the decades since she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.<\/p>\n
Former US President Barack Obama was controversially awarded the prize just nine months into his first term, to the dismay of figures including Trump, who called on the institution to retract the award.<\/p>\n
The decision to award Obama for \u201cextraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples\u201d soon appeared foolish after it emerged the president had told aides, referring to his use of drone strikes: \u201cTurns out I\u2019m really good at killing people.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Nobel Committee\u2019s then secretary, Geir Lundestad, later expressed regret over the decision. \u201cEven many of Obama\u2019s supporters believed that the prize was a mistake,\u201d he said. \u201cIn that sense the committee didn\u2019t achieve what it had hoped for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Khatib told Arab News that the most basic requirement of the prize is that the recipient contributes to peace.<\/p>\n
\u201cI personally don\u2019t know why Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,\u201d she told Arab News. \u201cWhat was the achievement for which he was awarded the prize?\u201d<\/p>\n
The Obama controversy may well have sparked Trump\u2019s desire to win the prize. He has referred to the 2009 award numerous times since, and has regularly expressed frustration over an accomplishment that he feels has eluded him.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu\u2019s nomination of Trump, however, is only the most recent that the US leader has received. He was nominated separately by a group of House Republicans in the US and two Norwegian lawmakers for his work to defuse nuclear tensions with North Korea in 2018.<\/p>\n
In 2021, Trump was also nominated by one of the two Norwegian lawmakers and a Swedish official for his peace efforts in the Middle East, including the Abraham Accords, which established formal relations between Israel and several Arab states.<\/p>\n
Shinzo Abe, the late former prime minister of Japan, also nominated Trump in 2019.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Pakistan said that it had nominated Trump for the prize in recognition of his work to end the country\u2019s brief conflict with India. New Delhi later denied that Washington played a role in mediation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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