Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House next Monday, his third since Trump’s return to office in January, according to a report published by The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Netanyahu Heads to Washington, DC Once Again
The announcement for the meeting comes as the United States is pushing for both Israel and Hamas to sign off on a ceasefire in Gaza, with the fate of around 50 hostages still uncertain.
Two US administration officials confirmed the visit to the Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Trump’s Optimism And Pressure
Meanwhile, Trump told reporters on Friday, “We think within the next week we are going to get a ceasefire,” though he didn’t elaborate on what that assertion was based on. The Trump team, however, has been actively engaging Israeli leadership in recent days.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt too, recently expressed remorse over the situation in Gaza, saying, “It’s heartbreaking to see the images that have come out of both Israel and Gaza over the course of this war, and the president wants to see it end. He wants to save lives,” as reported by the AP.
Strategic Talks in DC
Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is already in Washington for talks on Gaza, Iran and military strategy, among other things. Washinton’s talks with Tehran over Iran’s nuclear program collapsed earlier this month, following the US-led strikes on key Iranian targets including the country’s top nuclear scientists and miltary commanders.
US airstrikes recently hit major Iranian nuclear sites, and the Trump administration asserts that Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan facilities were “obliterated”. The US Defense Intelligence Agency supported that assertion, though they did not go so far as to declare the sites were destroyed.
Meanwhile, Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, while appearing on CBS’s Face the Nation, susggested that Tehran still was capable of resuming uranium enrichment “within next few months”.
Netanyahu’s Legal Troubles and Trump’s Endorsement
In a move seen by many as Trump inserting himself into Israel’s internal politics, the US president took to Truth Social, urging through a social media post that charges against Netanyahu in his corruption trial be dropped. He has branded the legal process a “WITCH HUNT,” while suggesting that the US “will be the one who saves Netanyahu.”
The gesture has unsettled some within Israel’s political class, with Trump’s support potentially bolstering Netanyahu’s stance at home amid internal disagreements.
New Arms Deal—Additional JDAMs for Israel
The Trump administration on Monday approved a sale of $510 million worth of arms to Israel, the report said, adding that the order contains more than 7,000 guidance kits for Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), a precision munition widely used in both Gaza and Iran campaigns.
Compared to the $3 billion Israel reportedly gets every year in US military assistance, the fresh deal supports the extent to which the two nations remain allied, particularly in times of rising geopolitical tensions.
