Labour Minister Can't Say If He Backs Netanyahu's Call For Trump To Get Nobel Peace Prize

President Donald Trump with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, during Trump's first term in the White House.A Labour minister refused to say if he supports Benjamin Netanyahu’s bid for Donald Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.The Israeli prime minister surprised the US president with a letter confirming he had put him forward for the award at the White House on Monday.Trump has been trying to negotiate an end to the war in the Middle East for months, although the first truce fell through in March.He announced last week that Israel had agreed to a 60-day ceasefire to end the Gaza war, and called on Hamas to “take this deal” or “it will get worse”.The US president also recently backed Israel by launching airstrikes on Iran and then helped organise a truce between the warring nations.But the UK’s paymaster general Nick Thomas-Symonds could not say if he backed the peace prize nomination this morning when asked on BBC Radio 4′s Today programme.“That’s a matter for the Nobel Institute, isn’t it?” he said. “The prime minister [Keir Starmer] has a very close relationship with President Trump, I think you’ve seen that –”Presenter Emma Barnett cut in: “Close enough to think that he should receive a Nobel Peace Prize?”Thomas-Symonds replied: “In terms of the Oval Office, you’ve seen the relationship between them –”Barnett said: “That’s not what I asked you. I asked you, as a man who represents people and sits in the cabinet and has come on the programme this morning, that is a suggestion by another world leader.“Do you think Donald Trump should receive a Nobel Peace Prize, for this close relationship, observing him, as you’ve just said? It would be great to hear your opinion.”The cabinet minister said that he has “never trod” into award nominations, and instead said he would be happy to answer questions about the UK’s relationship with the US.“That’s you choosing the questions rather than answering the ones that have been asked, but it doesn’t seem I’m going to get a view from you,” Barnett said and moved the interview on.Netanyahu told Trump on Monday that his nomination was “well-deserved”, while the president replied: “Coming from you in particular, this is very meaningful.”Netanyahu has been accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court for the military offensive in Gaza.The simmering tensions in the region escalated when Hamas killed 1,200 people on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023, and took a further 251 others hostage.Netanyahu declared war, imposing an aid blockade on Gaza and sending in Israel’s military to target Hamas.In the 21 months since, an estimated 56,000 Palestinians have been killed and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the region continues to deepen.Trump, meanwhile, complained just last month that he should have had “four or five” Nobel Peace Prizes by now.Related...Israel's Netanyahu Claims Starmer Is On 'Wrong Side Of Humanity'Trump Claims He Should've Received 5 Nobel Peace Prizes – Before Launching Strikes On Iran'Huge Mistake': Trump Envoy Sends Strong Warning To Putin About Ukraine Peace Negotiations

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