Trump, Netanyahu Share Vision for Iran and Gaza, July 2025
Before a White House dinner, President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talk about Gaza, Iran, Syria and Middle East peace.
Assembled here are key sources that have shaped the modern Middle East, Zionism and Israel. We have included items that give texture, perspective and opinion to historical context. Many of these sources are mentioned in the Era summaries and contain explanatory introductions.
President Trump’s Speech on U.S. Airstrikes on Iranian Nuclear Facilities
President Trump announces precision U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s key nuclear sites, citing Iran’s four-decade-long hatred of the U.S. and killing of Americans and others. He thanks the U.S. military, the Israeli military and Prime Minister Netanyahu, warning Iran to pursue peace because more targets remain.
President Trump Reaches Out to Iran From Qatar, 2025
Visiting Qatar after Saudi Arabia and before the United Arab Emirates in a Middle East trip that excluded Israel, President Donald Trump praises and pledges to defend Qatar and indicates a deal on Iran’s nuclear program is close.
“We Will Always Be Friends” — President Trump in Saudi Arabia, May 2025
May 13, 2025 President Donald Trump’s address laying out a vision for Middle East peace and prosperity and ending sanctions on Syria at the 2025 Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, https://www.youtube.com/live/wj1QOz3iuCE?si=qQRR2GcqZhtt1F5o Well, thank…
President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu Meet in Washington, April 2025
April 7, 2025 Source: Press conference during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House and President Donald Trump, as broadcast by C-SPAN, April 7, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for new tariffs…
U.S.-Israel Free-Trade Agreement, 1985
August 19, 1985 Introduction Israel and the United States enacted a free-trade agreement in August 1985 with the explicit goal not only of strengthening bilateral relations and expanding trade, but also of boosting a struggling…
Jordan’s Abdullah Sees Middle East “Finish Line” From Trump White House, 2025
Abdullah II remains studiously noncommittal in support of Donald Trump’s idea for the U.S. to take over the Gaza Strip, rebuild it and relocate its Palestinian residents to other countries. With Jordan’s strong economic, strategic and defense ties to Washington, no one expected the king to be effusive for Trump’s suggestions for Gaza’s future. Jordan lacks the economic and demographic absorptive capacities and the political interest to take another wave of Palestinians into its territory.
Remarks by President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, White House, February 2025
February 4, 2025 Trump Unveils Plan for U.S. Takeover of Gaza In President Donald Trump’s first meeting at the White House with a foreign leader in his second term, he welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin…
Hamas-Israel January 2025 Cease-Fire — Commentary and Implications
The details of the three-stage Hamas-Israel cease-fire that went into effect January 19, 2025, along with unanswered questions, insightful analyses and the relevant U.N. resolution from June 2024.
Prime Minister Netanyahu Addresses Congress on Hamas War, 2024
In a 52 minute speech, Netanyahu explained Israel’s absolute need for total victory in the Gaza war because Hamas and Iran were both enemies of the United States and Israel. With bi-partisan emphasis, he thanked Presidents Biden and Trump for their unwavering current and past support. Dozens of congressional members did not attend his speech, noting disagreements with the Prime Minister’s policies.
Schumer Identifies 4 Obstacles to Ending Hamas-Israel War
In presenting four obstacles in the way of ending the Hamas-Israel War, Schumer omits six basic obstacles that remain in the negotiating pathway to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
President Joe Biden’s Recommitment to Israel and Ukraine, November 2023
President Biden reaffirmed the iron-clad US commitment to Israel’s security and to eradicate the murderous nihilism of Hamas. He advocated for two states for two peoples; he committed his administration to facilitate that outcome.
President Biden Unequivocally Condemns Hamas, Supports Israel, October-November 2023
In the aftermath of the horrific Hamas attack on Israelis where Hamas terrorists murdered more than a thousand Israelis and more than two dozen Americans, and others in southern Israel, in half a dozen speeches, President Biden unequivocally categorizes Hamas’s brutality as ‘pure unadulterated evil.’ He reiterates that the US will “stand with Israel.” He punctuates his support of Israel by sending two aircraft carrier groups to the Middle East, and his administration provides Israel with needed military supplies.
Prime Minister Meir’s Knesset Speech on the October 1973 War and Knesset Resolution
Prime Minister Golda Meir in her address to the Knesset since the beginning of the October War, recounts the war’s status on the Golan Heights and in the Suez Canal area. She reveals that an Israeli task force had crossed the Suez Canal and was fighting on the west bank of that waterway.
Israel State Archives, “The Yom Kippur War,” October 1973
The Israel State Archives has created a 16-chapter, document-based narrative of the October 1973 war, the events leading to it, and its aftermath. The landing page includes links to other documentary sources for the war….
President Jimmy Carter, “The Camp David Accords,” Address to Congress, 1978
The Camp David accords culminated after thirteen days of intense negotiations between Israeli, Egyptian, and American delegations. Egyptian and Israeli leaders met with President Carter where after difficult negotiations they signed two accords, one an outline for an Egyptian-Israeli Treaty and one for Palestinian self-rule. The negotiations continued for another six months until the Egyptian-Treaty was signed in March 1979, after considerable bad feeling was tossed back and forth between Israeli and American negotiators.
President Isaac Herzog’s Speech to Congress, 2023
In just under an hour, Herzog emphasized the special US-Israeli relationship, citing common values between the two democracies, noting, “when the US is strong, Israel is stronger. And when Israel is strong, the US is more secure.” He cited Israel’s domestic and foreign policy challenges in its 75th year.
Mark Siegel Resignation Letter and Conversation With President Carter, 1978
Siegel resigned over two matters: the administration’s policy of selling advanced fighter aircraft to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which he believed a threat to Israel’s national security, and his sharp disagreement with the Carter White House for not allowing alternative views on policy matters to find their way to the President’s desk. Siegel’s detailed interview about the administration’s anti-Israeli viewpoints are explained here.
Jerusalem U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Joint Declaration, 2022
On President Joe Biden’s trip to Israel, he and Prime Minister Yair Lapid affirmed the long-term U.S.-Israel strategic relationship.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s Inaugural Address to the Israeli Parliament, 2021
Prime Minister Bennett outlines and offers details for meeting domestic and foreign policy challenges facing Israel. He asks all the citizens of Israel to forge together under the banners of realism and practical solutions.
Biden Administration Details Two-State Solution to Resolve Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, 2021
A week after Antony Blinken’s confirmation as Secretary of State, the Acting US Ambassador to the UN outlined with considerable detail the administration’s objective to an agreed, not imposed two-state resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict.
Abraham Accords: US, UAE, Israel, Bahrain Recognition Agreements, 2020
Quietly pursued in the past, long-standing strategic ties between Israel and Gulf states have become public. Building on the historic Joint Agreement signed between Israel and the UAE in August 2020, the Abraham Accords serve as a framework for normalizing diplomatic relations between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain.
Ambassador David Friedman — The Trump Plan: A Changing Diplomatic Paradigm for the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, 2020
US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman provides the most detailed Trump administration analyses of the prescribed two-state solution for terminating the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict.
Vision for Peace, Prosperity, and a Brighter Future for Israel and the Palestinian People, 2020
The plan builds on previous proposals for a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and contains a US-Israeli agreement that sets forth final borders for two states. The plan contains multiple prerequisites for Palestinian behavior before either the US or Israel might agree to Palestinian statehood as well as a proposed $50 economic development package to be allotted over a decade.
