Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is set to become the first foreign leader to meet President Donald Trump at the White House in his second term on Tuesday at a critical juncture for the Gaza ceasefire.
After his arrival in Washington, the Israeli ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, who took up his post one week ago, described this as “an historic visit” on X. “The US-Israel friendship is strong and is getting stronger,” he added.
Trump has claimed credit for sealing the initial six-week ceasefire deal halting 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas. So far, this has led to 13 Israeli and five Thai hostages being freed and 583 Palestinian prisoners released in exchange.
However, Netanyahu – facing a struggle for his political survival – has repeatedly stated that the existing Gaza deal is for a temporary ceasefire and that Israel has reserved “the right to return to fighting” against Hamas, saying this would have US backing.
Already one of the veteran Israeli PM’s far-right allies has quit his coalition over what he described as a “reckless” deal. Another has threatened to leave if the military offensive does not resume. If he left, the government would lose its majority.
Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have been allowed to return to their home areas in northern Gaza
On Monday, Netanyahu is due to have talks with the US Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who emerged as a key mediator – working with Qatar and Egypt – to secure the truce which began on 19 January.
If all continues to go to plan, a total of 33 hostages held by Hamas and another armed group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, are meant to be released by 1 March, in exchange for some 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Already the agreement has led to a major surge in desperately needed humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory and the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces.
The sensitive next stage of the ceasefire is supposed to see a more permanent end to the war and the release of the remaining hostages seized in the deadly Hamas assault on 7 October 2023.
Some 251 people were taken hostage and about 1,200 others killed in that attack. Israel’s military offensive which followed has killed at least 47,400 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Netanyahu’s office has indicated that it considers the meeting with Witkoff in Washington to mark the scheduled start of negotiations.
The presidential envoy is expected to speak to the Qatari prime minister and Egyptian officials this week, after which it is understood that he and the Israeli leader will discuss sending delegations to join further talks about the second stage of the ceasefire deal.
Trump has made it clear that he wants an end to the wars in the Middle East. He said on Sunday that ceasefire negotiations were “progressing” and that some “big meetings” were scheduled with Netanyahu.
Ofer Kalderon was one of three Israeli hostages released by Hamas on Saturday
For the Israeli PM, this is a boost on the world stage after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him on allegations of war crimes. Washington, does not recognise the court – meaning it has no obligation to detain Netanyahu – and has strongly condemned the ICC move.
The two leaders are expected to discuss a range of regional issues, including reviving efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia and how to deal with Iran, which twice directly attacked Israel with missiles and drones last year.
Trump pulled out of an international deal to curb Iran’s nuclear programme in 2018, and he and Netanyahu have pledged to stop Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran denies seeking atomic bombs.
Both men are also keen to build on the Abraham Accords, which set up diplomatic ties between Israel and several Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, in Trump’s first term.
BBC
