Netanyahu Releases Letter Nominating Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Tuesday released the letter in which he nominated President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing his “pivotal role” in negotiating diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab states in 2020.

The letter appeared to be part of Mr. Netanyahu’s attempt to cement relations with Mr. Trump during a White House visit.

“President Trump has demonstrated steadfast and exceptional dedication to promoting peace, security and stability around the world,” Mr. Netanyahu said in the letter, which was dated July 1 and addressed to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which awards the prize.

Speaking at a White House dinner on Monday, Mr. Netanyahu presented Mr. Trump with a copy of the letter and praised his host for “forging peace, as we speak, in one country in the region after another.” The president, who has made no secret of his desire to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, appeared to be surprised.

The letter said Mr. Trump had “created new opportunities to expand the circle of peace and normalization” in the Middle East. Since taking office in January, Mr. Trump has supported Israel’s military operations in Gaza and joined Israel by sending U.S. bombers to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Critics of the president have argued that his diplomatic achievements are insufficient to warrant serious consideration for the prize, and that nominating him is an attempt by governments to curry favor. Pakistan said in June that it had decided to nominate Mr. Trump for the prize for his diplomacy in stopping fighting between India and Pakistan earlier this year.

Mr. Netanyahu’s letter also cited Mr. Trump’s role in the 2020 Abraham Accords, during the president’s first term, which established formal diplomatic ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. The accords were a diplomatic victory for Israel, in part because the Arab states abandoned their longstanding condition that relations with Israel could only come after the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Mr. Trump has sought for Saudi Arabia to join the accords, but that effort has stalled in part because of Arab anger over the war in Gaza. And it took a further blow in January, when he proposed transferring all 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza out of the territory and rebuilding it as the “Riviera of the Middle East,” an idea that Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries rejected.

If the Nobel committee does consider Mr. Trump’s nomination, it is unlikely to do so for this year’s prize. Nominations closed in January and the committee said it had registered 338 entries.

Mr. Trump has yearned for the prize for years and has pointed to the fact that he has not yet secured it as evidence that his achievements are insufficiently recognized.

“I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do,” he said in a post on social media last month, listing several diplomatic initiatives that he said should make him eligible.