President Herzog meets U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz

(Communicated by the President’s Spokesperson)

President Isaac Herzog today (Wednesday, 10 December 2025) met with Ambassador Mike Waltz, Representative of the United States to the United Nations, at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem today. Also joining their meeting was Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon. 

President Herzog thanked Ambassador Waltz for his key role in diplomatic efforts to secure the adoption of the historic UN Security Council Resolution 2803 last month. President Herzog and Ambassador Waltz discussed the importance of the full implementation of the resolution and President Trump’s Peace Plan, including the urgent obligation for Hamas to return the last hostage still held in Gaza, Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili.

President Isaac Herzog:

“Mr. Ambassador, we’re very happy that you’re here. It’s your first official visit as Ambassador to the United Nations to Israel since you assumed office. You have a very important position, because you need to steer through the implementation of the Security Council Resolution, which has been no less than historic, and it creates a benchmark for the Day After, which is a grand vision of President Trump, and we respect his efforts here immensely, and we are grateful for them.

“We hope that the process will not take too long, because in the Middle East, if you wait for too long, then the vacuum fills in, and the rogue elements don’t rest for a moment. Iran is trying to regroup, and its proxies are trying to regroup, and we have to show momentum to implement a resolution which, I think, has managed to combine a few forces which were not on board in the past. Of course, now the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and I hope honestly that it will succeed, the President will succeed, and all the partners concerned will succeed.

“I want to thank you also for supporting Israel with clear moral clarity, because you are here and you’re seeing how we are protecting the free world, Europe. We are at the frontier of civilization and of these values here, and we are the ones with our sons and daughters who have paid an enormous price since October 7th, and we want to be able to change the trajectory so the world will be able to understand the strategic importance of Israel.

“And finally, Mr. Ambassador, my wife leads an international campaign on the sexual violence of October 7th, and she has worked closely with Ambassador Danon and others, and also with Pramila Patten, the Under-Secretary and UN rapporteur on this issue. I think it’s an issue to discuss and repeat all the time, because there are adverse forces that are simply lying, and some of them are part and parcel of the UN establishment, so I think it’s an item that should be on your agenda, too. Thank you and welcome.”

Ambassador Mike Waltz:

“Good to be with you. An honor to be with you. As you mentioned, President Trump’s 20-point plan was absolutely historic. I think we followed that now with having the international community, the UN Security Council endorsed that plan 13 to 0, with public support from Arab nations, Muslim-majority nations, even a public acceptance from the PA, so it was quite, I think, an undertaking, and working very closely with Ambassador Danon and the entire team. And we have to give credit, I think, where credit is due, to the President, to Secretary Rubio, his special envoys, Witkoff, Kushner. This truly was a team effort and there’s always going to be critics.

“I think this was probably the most positive resolution we’ve seen for Israel, for stability in the region, and it was just not a lot of rhetoric, it puts a clear plan in place. We now have that authorization. I think we will see announcements upcoming in terms of the Board of Peace, led by President Trump. The key components of that are a technocratic authority of Palestinians to get the water, the gas, the sewage, to get those basic services going again in Gaza. Of course, a funding mechanism for the owners to pay for it, and then the international stabilization force.

“What has been clear, and I want to be clear, is Hamas has to go. President Trump has been clear, that’s going to happen the easy way or the hard way, but there will not be any more Hamas. And what we cannot do, what we’re determined to avoid, is what I call the definition of insanity: somehow Hamas is allowed to survive, they rebuild, the international community pours billions into reconstruction, Hamas attacks again, and Israel has no choice but to respond, and here we are in this cycle of insanity. The President, his team, is determined to break that, and one of the many reasons I’m here is to see that implemented.”