WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is declaring Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip over and has already barreled ahead toward far larger goals — arguing that the fragile ceasefire his administration helped broker is a chance to bring a lasting peace to the greater Middle East.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is equally exuberant about the present, but far more measured in his assessments going forward. He's characterized the deal, which is still in its early stages, as “a proposal to free hostages and end the war” while also saying that his country used two years of often brutal war in Gaza to showcase its military might.

The pair seemingly offering strikingly different perspectives about the prospects for future peace is noteworthy given just how much each l

See Full Page