Peace in Middle East

I’m glad the hostages were released, even though Israel had to release 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners. However, I won’t hold my breath about peace lasting very long.

Hamas has a long history of breaking the peace. I suspect they’ll regroup, rearm and begin launching rockets at Israel again within a year. They’re more interested in wiping Israel off the map than they are about the welfare of their own people. Neville Chamberlain brokered a deal with Hitler and proclaimed, “Peace in our time.” After all, treaties were made to be broken.

— Kirk Felmar, San Pedro

Norwegian Nobel Committee

Re “Should Trump get Nobel Peace Prize?” (Oct. 14):

It is premature to ask whether Donald Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. A ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange are a step in the right direction but hardly an end to a war. The Nobel Peace Prize Committee will have a much better idea of the consequences of Donald Trump’s efforts in several months or more. For example, President Theodore Roosevelt didn’t receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the Russo-Japanese War until a year after it formally ended.

— Norman Ellstrand, Riverside

Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel established the yearly prize to those who in the prior year created or did an act that provided the greatest benefit for mankind. Due to ideological influence from one side of the belief spectrum, the prize has lost some of its true meaning. Maria Machado deserved the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025 for her valiant efforts to overthrow Maduro’s authoritarian government.

This should deter Maduro from taking violent action to remove her from Venezuelan popularity. President Trump will be nominated again in 2026 for his efforts in ending many conflicts around the world.

— Stephen Lucas, Van Nuys

No to Trump’s award

I think President Trump should be applauded for helping to broker peace between Israel and Hamas (for now), but unlike this year’s recipient Maria Corina Machado, his intentions were not at all altruistic. Trump has made it clear that this is an award and recognition that he wants.

After all, President Obama “didn’t do anything” for his Nobel award. The Peace Prize should be awarded to someone who is dedicated to the greater good for all and not selfishly concerned only about himself or someone who directs his administration minions to nominate him. I say no!

— J.P. Garcia, Yorba Linda

President Trump truly deserves the Peace Prize

There is no one more deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize than President Donald Trump. It is long overdue. I found it embarrassing that it was awarded to Barack Obama in 2009.

That was a bad joke! Trump has done as much, if not more, to earn the Nobel Peace Prize than any recipient in the world. He has been denied this award long enough. Wake up people, and acknowledge his accomplishments. We all should be grateful for how much good he has done for America. If he had not been elected, there would be no America today.

— Carolyn Sledge, Los Alamitos

Possibly next year for Trump

It may be possible for him to win it next year, especially if the Gaza peace plan holds and evolves into something lasting and beneficial for both Israel and the Palestinians, and certainly if, and this is a big if, Trump can manage to broker a fair, lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.

But as your editorial of Oct. 14 pointed out, the 2025 winner of this prestigious prize, Maria Corina Machado, worked for years against a brutal dictatorship in her home country of Venezuela, and Donald Trump’s second presidential term has been anything but pro-democracy.

It should disqualify any world leader who wants the Peace Prize if he or she struggles for peace overseas while imposing wartime conditions in their own cities at home.

— Robert Apfelzweig, San Clemente