President Trump’s brokering of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has renewed calls for him to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to permanently end one of the most violent chapters in the history of the Middle East.
The ceasefire agreement will bring home hostages held by Hamas for more than two years, stop fighting and begin a surge of humanitarian aid into the war-torn Gaza Strip, where famine has taken hold. It’s an accomplishment, and some say it is worthy of the prestigious prize.
John Hannah, national security adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney and deputy national security adviser for the Middle East for President George W. Bush, said he can’t think of anyone more deserving of the Nobel.
“This is a man who got it done,” Mr. Hannah said of the commander in chief. “As a result of what happened [Wednesday] night, the entire world is unified in exhaling a breath of relief. For the first time in two years, there’s a possibility now to end this war that has been horrific for both sides.”
However, with the Nobel Peace Prize Committee set to announce its choice Friday, the announcement of a ceasefire might be too late to be considered. Another factor standing in his way is that the deadline for nominations was Jan. 31.
“My strong assumption is that the decision has been made prior to this, but if this deal holds, it would very much improve President Trump’s chances of winning next year,” said Will Todman, a senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic International Studies.
Mr. Trump has long complained that he has been overlooked for the Nobel Peace Prize. He said he should have won the award “four or five times” and that the committee has a political bias against him. He also insists he is not openly campaigning for it.
“I’m not politicking for it. I have a lot of people that are,” Mr. Trump said in August while signing a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House.
Several high-profile names, including Rep. Claudia Tenney, New York Republican, and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, have called for Mr. Trump to win the prize.
Perhaps the biggest name so far is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called for Mr. Trump to land the award hours after the ceasefire agreement was announced.
“Give @realDonaldTrump the Nobel Peace Prize — he deserves it!” Mr. Netanyahu wrote on social media.
Mr. Netanyahu also posted an artificial-intelligence-generated image of himself hanging an oversized Nobel medal around Mr. Trump’s neck. The two men are surrounded by applauding officials while confetti drops in the background. A banner reading “Peace through Strength” is positioned behind the president.
In July, Mr. Netanyahu nominated Mr. Trump for the award for his role in attacking Iran’s nuclear program during the 12-day conflict between the two countries and establishing the ceasefire that ended that war.
Oddspedia, a sports betting hub, said Thursday that Mr. Trump’s role in securing a deal between Israel and Hamas doubled his odds of winning the Nobel Peace Prize and declared him the favorite to win the award.
The betting site gives Mr. Trump 2-1 odds to win the prize. Before the peace deal’s announcement, Mr. Trump’s odds stood at 6-to-1. That vaults him ahead of the Sudanese Emergency Response Rooms, which offers humanitarian aid in places where aid responses have fallen short and which has 5-2 odds.
Russian opposition leader Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, is the third favorite at 4-to-1, followed by Doctors Without Borders at 14-to-1 and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at 16-to-1.
Despite the renewed calls for Mr. Trump to win the Nobel Peace Prize, the odds are stacked against him. Only three U.S. presidents have ever won the award while in office.
The Nobel Committee awarded the prize to President Obama in 2009, who had been in office less than nine months, for “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” The committee cited his efforts to fight climate change and stop nuclear proliferation.
The two other presidents to win the award were Theodore Roosevelt, who won in 1906 for his effort to end the war between Japan and the Russian Empire, and Woodrow Wilson, who won in 1919 for helping launch the League of Nations, a precursor to the United Nations, at the end of World War I.
Former President Jimmy Carter won the award in 2002, more than 20 years after he left office, for his decades of promoting democracy and human rights and mediating disputes.
Mr. Trump’s argument for the prize goes beyond the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. He claims to have ended seven wars and could end an eighth if the conflict in Gaza ends.
“Nobody’s ever done that,” he told military leaders last week at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. “Will you get the Nobel Prize? Absolutely not. They’ll give it to some guy that didn’t do a damn thing.”
In June, Pakistani officials announced they would recommend him for the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between their country and India. A group of Republican lawmakers nominated him after the Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, though that meeting has yet to produce a ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The Nobel Peace Prize was first awarded in 1901. According to Alfred Nobel’s wishes, it is to be given to “the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”
Since then, 111 individuals and 31 organizations have been recognized, some more than once.
The Oslo-based Nobel Committee comprises five members appointed by Norway’s parliament.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.