Trump anticipates ‘big meetings’ with Netanyahu who is in DC
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is currently in the United States will be having a “big meetings” with President Donald Trump during which the duo are expected to discuss “victory over Hamas” and expanding diplomatic relations with Arab countries.
“The discussions on the Middle East with Israel and various and sundry other countries are progressing,” Trump told reporters over the whine of a jet engine on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland
The meeting Tuesday at the White House will be Mr. Trump’s first with a foreign leader since returning to office on Jan. 20.
It comes as the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza holds and mediators begin the daunting work of brokering the next phase of the agreement.
The ceasefire discussions in Washington are expected to also cover concessions Netanyahu must accept to revive normalization efforts with Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh according to reports by the Times of Israel, suspended discussions early in the Gaza war and hardened its stance, insisting on a resolution to the Palestinian issue before making any deal.
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But Netanyahu faces intense pressure from within his cabinet to resume the war, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatening to quit and strip the prime minister of his Knesset majority.
Hamas, which has reasserted control over Gaza since the ceasefire began last month, has said it will not release hostages in the second phase without an end to the war and Israeli forces’ full withdrawal.
Netanyahu has said Israel is committed to victory over Hamas and the return of all hostages captured in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war.
Trump has been a staunch supporter of Israel, but has also pledged to end wars in the Middle East and took credit for helping to broker the ceasefire agreement.
The deal has led to the release of 13 hostages held by terror groups in Gaza — five Thai nationals abducted in the same attack were also freed from Gaza in a separate deal — in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian security inmates from Israeli prisons.
