Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro on Monday that he thinks the world is “close to the end of the war,” praising the United States for bringing the world to the negotiating table for peace.

Netanyahu sat down with Shapiro in Israel ahead of the two-year anniversary of the October 7 terrorist attack, and said Israel still has “things to do to complete the victory” against Hamas. Shapiro, who called President Donald Trump “the most pro-Israel president in the history of the United States,” said it’s “pretty incredible” that Trump has been able to broker a peace deal that has support around the world.

Netanyahu said Israel gives Trump full credit for his ability to turn the tables against Hamas.

“Right now the liberty of the world, the security of the world, is dependent on the strength of the United States,” Netanyahu said. “What President Trump has done, in a very short time, is bring America back to the driver seat in world affairs. That’s very important, because we all depend on America’s strength and America’s resolve.”

Netanyahu stressed the importance of Israel’s partnership with the United States, while noting that Israel is “the junior partner” and “nobody should mistake that.”

But while acknowledging the imbalance at this point in the relationship, Netanyahu argued that there are benefits for the United States as well.

“‘America First’ doesn’t mean America alone, because all countries need allies. Superpowers need allies,” the prime minister said. “The problem that you’ve had over the years, the United States, is that you didn’t have these allies pulling their weight. Israel is an ally, it’s a fighting ally that pulls its weight.”

Netanyahu put forward the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran earlier this year as an example. The “12-Day War” that ended on June 25 saw numerous Israeli strikes on Iranian military positions, the destruction of Iran’s air defense, and a severe setback to Tehran’s nuclear program. The United States delivered the final blow on Tehran’s nuclear program with a combined B-2 bombing run and Tomahawk missiles launched from a submarine against sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

Israel, with U.S. backing, has defeated “your enemies who were trying to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads to attack your cities. That’s what Iran was doing,” said Netanyahu.

Iran has long expressed hostility toward the United States, with its leaders leading chants of “Death to America” and calling the United States the “Great Satan.”

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“We just knocked out Iran … with President Trump’s very judicious and pointed assistance. It didn’t start World War 3. It didn’t require, you know, thousands of Americans to die or to go to Tehran,” Netanyahu continued. “We had exactly the right alliance in which we shared the labor, and we achieved this neutralization of Iran.”

Aside from its direct military action against U.S. opponents, Israel also provides significant boosts to American weaponry and intelligence. Iron Dome, the anti-ballistic missile Arrow defense system, and the Trophy system designed to protect tanks are all defensive systems developed by Israel and shared with the United States, the prime minister said.

Netanyahu added that Israel has also shared offensive capabilities with the United States as well, though he said he couldn’t give all the details. “We share it with America, but I can’t share it with you,” joked Netanyahu.

“The most advanced offensive weapons on the planet – things that none of the superpowers have – developed by Israel, shared with America. That’s very important because, you know, you have to be strong. Everybody understands that,” he added. “That’s what President Trump says, and he says it correctly: peace through strength. You’ve got to be strong in order to get the peace.”

Netanyahu said that the October 7 anniversary is a time to reflect on what’s been accomplished in the past two years.

“We can all acknowledge, and in some ways also celebrate the fact, that we rose from the ashes,” Netanyahu said. “From the pit of despair, we’ve become again the dominant power in the Middle East, perhaps stronger than we were before. That’s something that we can give thanks for.”

According to Virginia Del. Carrie Coyner (R-Chesterfield), the still-unfolding scandal involving Democrat attorney general nominee Jay Jones goes deeper than just a few text messages.

Coyner, who was the recipient of several 2022 text messages from Jones advocating for the assassination of then-state House Speaker Todd Gilbert, said that Jones had made similar comments to her back in 2020 when they were discussing the idea of qualified immunity for police officers.

“We had a pretty heated conversation about public policy and pain involving qualified immunity,” Coyner told Brandon Jarvis of Virginia Scope.

“I served on the Courts Committee for a short period of time. A bill to remove qualified immunity for police officers, which protects police officers from personal liability in their line of duty and their line of work, and he believed that they should not have qualified immunity, and he was trying to convince me to agree with that,” Coyner explained.

“I said, ‘No, police officers have to make a split second decision about whether or not to shoot a gun to protect themselves or protect others. And if they’re having to think about, will this strip my whole family of everything … are they going to be able to make that split-second decision?’” Coyner recalled, adding, “And I said, ‘I believe that people will get killed. Police officers will get killed.’ And he said, ‘Well, maybe if a few of them died, that they would move on, not shooting people, not killing people.’ And I said, ‘that’s insane.’”

“But he firmly believed that if you removed qualified immunity, that police officers would act differently, and I firmly believe that it would not result in good public policy, and it would put police officers and the public’s lives at risk if they have to second-guess themselves on a decision they’re making in a moment where someone is doing something violent,” she said.

Jones — who did put his name behind legislation ending qualified immunity for police officers — did not speak directly with Virginia Scope, but provided a statement claiming that he had never said any such thing.

“I did not say this. I have never believed and do not believe that any harm should come to law enforcement, period. Every single day, police officers put their lives on the line to protect our communities, and I am deeply grateful for their service and sacrifice. As Attorney General, I will work hand-in-hand with law enforcement to support their work,” the statement read.