Netanyahu heads to the U.S. to chat with Trump

Netanyahu and Trump will discuss victory over Hamas in a “reshape of the Middle East,” Netanyahu’s visit to Israel and the return of hostages

Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, played a key role in persuading Netanyahu to accept the ceasefire’s first phase, and Trump wants to see the deal continue until all hostages are freed and the war is over, in order to focus on a Saudi-Israeli peace deal.

The negotiations have begun for a second phase of the truce that will end the war and bring about the return of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Also on the table is a bargain that could reshape the Middle East for decades to come: a deal to open Israel’s diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.

The hostages are to be freed in the second phase after the war ends, but Hamas said it won’t release them without an end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Israel’s air and ground war has killed over 47,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to local health authorities who do not say how many of the dead were fighters. The war has left large parts of several cities in ruins and left the population of Gaza around 2.3 million people homeless.

He said that by working together, they could “strengthen security, broaden the circle of peace and achieve a remarkable era of peace through strength.”

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he will discuss “victory over Hamas,” countering Iran and expanding diplomatic relations with Arab countries in his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

He has been a strong supporter of Israel but also promised to end wars in the Middle East and helped broker the ceasefire agreement. The deal resulted in the release of 18 hostages who had been held over 15 months, as well as hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

While Israel is under mounting pressure to resume the war, Netanyahu has said that his country’s priority is to win the war over Hamas and bring back the hostages.

The First White House Meeting Between the U.S. and the Arab World: How Can the United States Help Israel with the Israeli-Arab War?

Tuesday’s meeting at the White House will be Trump’s first with a foreign leader since returning to office. It comes as U.S. and Arab mediators begin the daunting work of brokering the next phase of an agreement to wind down the war in the Gaza Strip and release dozens of militant-held hostages.

The kingdom said it wouldn’t sign a deal unless there was a path to a Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

“As long as he continues the war, Israel does not go to election,” Talshir says. Israel does not have a public investigation of what happened. And Netanyahu remains in power.”

The agreements between Israel and four Arab countries during Trump’s first term are thought to have prompted the president to seek a bigger deal in order to forge ties with Saudi Arabia.

It will be difficult for the U.S. president to satisfy that Saudi demand, according to an analyst at The Heritage Foundation.

“As much as we might want a deal with Saudi Arabia, you know, Israel is going to, particularly after Oct. 7, remain very, very mindful of its internal security. Coates says it has to. “Now that the deal looks like it’s going to take a little bit longer now, it might take a little bit longer for it to happen.”

Trump has also floated the prospect of relocating Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring Egypt and Jordan. Arab countries including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have firmly rejected the idea, as have Palestinians.

On Saturday, family and friends cheered as American Israeli hostage Keith Siegel was freed by Hamas. Many at the gathering at Siegel’s relatives home expressed concern about the war restarting before all the hostages are freed. Rabbi Steve Burnstein believes U.S. pressure can make a difference.

He said he hopes the Americans do everything they can to make sure the Israeli government is strong and can reach the second stage of the deal.

At the rally, a woman who only gave her first name, spoke frankly about U.S.-Israeli politics without repercussions, and stated that Trump could push Netanyahu to seal another deal.

The question of whether Israel will launch a military strike on Iran was one of the main issues concerning the fight against its proxies.

Talshir, who’s writing a forthcoming book about the Netanyahu era of Israel, believes that given Netanyahu’s interest in retaining his coalition and staying in office, the prime minister might have an interest in returning to war.