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Khalil Quoted in PolitiFact Article on President Trump’s Speech in Israel

October 13, 2025

PolitiFact

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Osamah F. Khalil


President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas, calling it a “historic dawn of a new Middle East.” The 20-point plan includes releasing Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, transitioning Gaza’s governance from Hamas to a Palestinian committee, and creating an international stabilization force.

Fact-checks of Trump’s remarks found that while he played a major role in brokering the deal, several of his claims—about resolving multiple wars, the Iran nuclear program and past U.S. presidents’ relations with Israel—were exaggerated or inaccurate.

Osamah Khalil, professor of history and expert on the modern Middle East, says it’s untrue that Obama or Biden “held a personal animus toward Israel, especially Biden.”

“Indeed, both administrations oversaw expansions in U.S. military assistance and coordination with Israel,” Khalil says. “In 2016, Obama signed the largest U.S. military aid package in history.”

Read more in the PolitiFact article, “Fact-checking Donald Trump’s speech in Israel on same day as hostage, prisoner releases.”


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