Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting with President Donald Trump and other members of his administration to discuss the Gaza ceasefire agreement and his Middle East plans.
Netanyahu was welcomed on a red carpet by senior Israeli officials and an honor guard carrying the US and Israeli flags at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Sunday.
So who is he meeting, what’s on the agenda, and why is this visit significant?
When is he meeting Trump and others?
On Monday, the Israeli premier is scheduled to meet Steve Witkoff, Washington’s new point man for the Middle East. Witkoff has been widely credited for helping to broker the January 2015 ceasefire in Gaza, including from Qatari mediators.
A day later, a meeting has been scheduled at the White House in the afternoon, where Netanyahu and Trump will sit down together.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with US military leaders at the Pentagon, followed by congressional hearings on Thursday.
How is the timing significant?
His visit coincides with the upcoming ceasefire negotiations between Israel, Hamas, and other mediating countries.
The Israeli prime minister has stated on numerous occasions that he wants to return to fighting soon and that he intends to keep Israeli military rule over Syria and Lebanon.
Netanyahu is facing political pressure to make sure that his coalition can demonstrate regional military dominance, including by launching additional military assaults, after one of his far-right ministers leaves the cabinet.
Witkoff, the US envoy to the region, is expected to continue discussions with mediators Qatar and Egypt after talking with Netanyahu in Washington, DC.
Netanyahu is the first foreign dignitary to be invited to the White House on an official visit after two weeks of Trump’s inauguration.
Trump’s announced tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and China, which are scheduled to start imposing on Tuesday, come at a time when there is global concern.
The US president threatened tariffs on the European Union as the three US’s top trade partners announced their retaliatory measures. The 27-member bloc has been warned that if it is targeted, it will retaliate.
What is Netanyahu’s main concern?
Netanyahu stated during his meetings that he would concentrate on the objectives Israel had set for the Gaza war before heading to the US.
The Israeli leader also stresses “dealing with the Iranian terror axis in all its components” in reference to the Tehran-led “axis of resistance” and the total victory over Hamas and the release of all captives in Gaza.
Hamas appears to have quickly relinquished control of Gaza, stressing that it will not release any more captives in the second phase if the Israeli side breaches its commitments by putting an end to its military occupation.
Netanyahu claimed that the Middle East’s history had already been altered by Israeli and US military actions during the conflict and that he intends to “redraw the map even further and for the better.”
Despite the destruction caused by the war and Trump’s plan to “clean out” Gaza by urging Egypt and Jordan to accept more than tens of thousands of Palestinians who have fled the region, he is also interested in stabilizing ties with the Arab countries in the region. Both Cairo and Amman have rejected Trump’s proposal.
How has the Netanyahu-Trump relationship evolved?
During Trump’s first administration, the two leaders made a strong ally by moving the US embassy there and acknowledging Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Trump also endorsed the Abraham Accords, which established normalized Israel’s relations with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, and affirmed Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights.
Unlike many of Trump’s other close allies, who hesitantly or rebuffed his unsupported election fraud claims, Netanyahu immediately congratulated him after winning.
After that, according to reports, Trump reportedly got angry with Netanyahu, and they didn’t communicate much.
However, despite Trump’s sporadic criticism of the handling of the Gaza war, their relationship gradually rekindled after Netanyahu’s return to power in Israel with a far-right government at the beginning of 2023.
Netanyahu cited the “strength of our personal friendship” and the fact that Trump first invited him to a visit following his inauguration as proof of our shared strength.
Will there be protests?
When US lawmakers broke records for the number of standing ovations they gave him during an address to Congress, Netanyahu was met with numerous protests when he last traveled to Washington, DC, last year.
This time, similar street demonstrations and online expressions of protest and condemnation are expected.
Source: Aljazeera
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