Former Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl is supporting President Donald Trump's framework for peace between Israel and Gaza.
On Monday, the White House announced a 20-point plan to resolve the Middle East conflict, in which Hamas would release its remaining hostages, give up its arms and give up control of Gaza. In return, Israel would agree to stop all military operations in Gaza and release around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
During an interview on FNC's "Fox & Friends," Pearl, chairman of the U.S. Israel Education Association's board of directors and ambassador for Auburn athletics, said that due to Trump's leadership, he believes Hamas will surrender and release Israeli hostages.
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"What a difference a week makes, right?" Pearl stated. "Last week, the world walked out on Bibi, and today, the world is standing together, thanks to President Trump, hoping and praying that Hamas will surrender and release the hostages. This plan's got a chance, Brian."
Host Brian Kilmeade asked to clarify that Pearl was "optimistic" about Trump's plan working.
"I am because of President Trump's leadership," he replied. "He has put a lot of political capital into this one. He is going to stay with the program and the implementation, that's number one. I think the second thing, Brian, and you talk about this all the time: Peace through strength. Look how strong Israel is right now. Look what they have done militarily. Look at how they have made the region much safer. What about the rest of the Arab world? Who do you want to partner with? You want to partner with Iran right now, or do you want to partner with Israel? This gives us a chance to build on the Abraham Accords. And the other thing is. Trump is talking about starting to rebuild the 75% of Gaza that Israel is occupying right now. And if Hamas wants to stay there in that little 25% pocket in Gaza City, we're going to start rebuilding. We're going to start putting humanitarian aid into these other places. This makes Hamas irrelevant. If Hamas doesn't accept the deal, Doha and Qatar must tell the Hamas leaders, 'You have to leave. It's time for you now to go. Go back to Gaza. Go fight the war.' We've got to put pressure on this. It's the only way we get rid of the hostages."
"And last thing, Brian, remember this. Let's not make the same mistake in Judea and Samaria that we made in Gaza. The reason why peace has a chance is because Israel is occupying it right now and putting the pressure on it right now to make it a better place for everybody, including, more importantly, the Palestinians that are held hostage right now by Hamas."
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