WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday will become the first foreign leader to be welcomed to the White House by President Donald Trump since the U.S. leader returned to power last monty. The pair will come together for an Oval Office sit-down, joint news conference and dinner on Tuesday.
The visit from the Israeli leader, who has presided over a 15-month retaliatory campaign in Gaza following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack and is in the trenches of a corruption trial, comes at what could be a pivotal moment in the war.
After both Trump's and former President Joe Biden’s teams worked together in the final days of the U.S. transition of power to help put into place the first six-week phase of a multistep hostage release and ceasefire proposal that ultimately looks to end the war in Gaza, negotiations are set to pick up to secure an agreement on the second stage. The topic is expected to be top of mind for both leaders in Washington.
Kicking off his trip to Washington, Netanyahu already met with Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. In a statement, Netanyahu called the meeting “positive and friendly” and said he would send a delegation to engage in talks about the second phase – which would bring the release of all remaining people taken hostage by Hamas and extend the pause in fighting indefinitely – at the end of the week.
The securement of the first phase has already brought the release of more than a dozen hostages, including an American-Israeli Keith Siegel over the weekend.
But there is pushback among some further to the right in the Israeli leader’s coalition. Trump on Monday told reporters that there are “no guarantees that the peace is going to hold," despite the U.S. leader widely taking credit for putting the first phase in place, an agreement that was reached in the final days of Biden’s presidency.
Trump has also been honing in on the idea of other countries, particularly Egypt and Jordan, taking in Palestinians displaced amid the war in Gaza, insisting to reporters that “they will do it.”
Trump has boasted about his support for Israel, including in his first term declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel and securing the Abraham Accords.
In a statement on his trip to the U.S. capital, Netanyahu referred to the distinction of being the first foreign leader to sit down with Trump in the Oval Office in his second term “telling.”
“I think it’s a testimony to the strength of the Israeli-American alliance," the prime minister said. "It’s also a testimony to the strength of our personal friendship.”