Intro

The U.S. president has hailed a “historic dawn of a new Middle East” on the day the last 20 living hostages were returned by Hamas to Israel, and almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees were also released. It was an integral part of the peace agreement brokered by the United States, and Donald Trump was welcomed with cheers as he addressed the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, the first such address by a US president since 2008.

Justin, Marianna, Anthony and Matt Chorley answer your questions on how much credit should be given to Trump, what this means for Gaza, could there be implications for Ukraine and Iran, and why is the Nobel peace prize so important for Donald Trump?

We also unpack Trump’s speech, and look at who the individuals are behind the scenes of his 20 point plan. How instrumental was the president’s Middle East envoy who had no experience in politics, the real estate dealmaker Steve Witkoff? And what role was played by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner?

HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Anthony Zurcher, North America correspondent • Marianna Spring, Social Media Investigations correspondent

GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 • Email Americast@bbc.co.uk • Or use #Americast

This episode was made by George Dabby with Rufus Gray, Sophie Smith, and Grace Reeve. The technical producer was Dafydd Evans. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

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