Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is the only foreign leader to be invited to the White House three times so far during U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term.Alex Brandon/The Associated Press
U.S. President Donald Trump broke bread with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday in a bid to push forward Gaza ceasefire negotiations and discuss next steps on Iran after the bombing of that country’s nuclear facilities last month.
But whether Israel and Hamas would agree to pause fighting remains unclear, as does Mr. Trump’s framework for a prospective subsequent peace deal.
Mr. Netanyahu dined with Mr. Trump and a troop of advisers after sitting down earlier in the day with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s Middle East envoy, at Blair House, the guest house for visiting heads of state and government.
The Israeli Prime Minister is the only foreign leader to be invited to the White House three times so far during Mr. Trump’s second term.
During a question-and-answer session with reporters at the dinner, Mr. Trump said he believed a deal was close. “They want it, they want to meet and they want to have that ceasefire,” he said of Hamas.
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Mr. Witkoff added: “We have an opportunity to finally get a peace deal, Mr. Prime Minister, as we discussed, and I’m hopeful for it very quickly.”
Mr. Netanyahu, for his part, handed Mr. Trump a letter he said he had sent to the Nobel Committee nominating the President for a “well-deserved” peace prize.
“Wow,” Mr. Trump replied. “Coming from you, in particular, this is very meaningful.”
At an earlier press briefing, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Mr. Trump’s goal is to “end this conflict once and for all.” But she declined to say what Mr. Trump’s specifics were for a longer-term deal that would end the war definitively. “Right now, the President is focused on today and to get Hamas to agree to this ceasefire.”
Mr. Witkoff is scheduled to travel to Doha later this week, where Israeli and Hamas representatives are set to resume ceasefire negotiations. The current proposal, as outlined by Mr. Trump, is for a 60-day ceasefire during which Hamas would hand over hostages kidnapped in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and both sides would work toward a permanent peace.
U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iran-backed Hamas militants on Tuesday to agree to what he called a 'final proposal' for a 60-day ceasefire with Israel in Gaza that will be delivered by mediating officials from Qatar and Egypt.
Reuters
Thorny issues to work through include how far back Israeli forces would withdraw during the ceasefire and to what extent the United Nations would take over distribution of food and other aid from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. A U.S. group backed by Washington and Israel, the foundation has been distributing aid in the enclave since May 27.
Hundreds of Gazans have been killed and thousands injured trying to access aid at the foundation’s distribution points, according to the UN, which says the Israeli military has shot and shelled people seeking aid. U.S. security contractors have also opened fire on crowds at aid-distribution sites, the Associated Press reported.
Aaron David Miller, a former U.S. State Department official who advised on Arab-Israeli negotiations, said the parties are “closer than ever to another incremental deal” to temporarily stop fighting.
Mr. Netanyahu is in a strong position politically, allowing him to manage the far-right elements in his government who would oppose a ceasefire, Mr. Miller said, while Mr. Trump’s help to Israel in bombing Iran gives him leverage over the Prime Minister. Hamas, meanwhile, has every reason to want a respite.
Much hazier is the prospect for long-term peace.
While the potential of normalized relations with Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries is an enticement to Israel, the political price for Mr. Netanyahu with his coalition partners would be steep, Mr. Miller said. Among other things, it would likely mean Israel retreating from most of its current positions in the enclave and giving up on demands that Hamas disarm and its leaders be expelled from Gaza.
“It would require Netanyahu to essentially depart from his plan of total victory,” Mr. Miller told The Globe and Mail. “It would probably bring the collapse of his government, and whether or not the President is willing to push him hard is unclear to me.”
The U.S. President said at the dinner that talks have been scheduled with Iran to discuss a permanent agreement to stop its nuclear program.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
During a February meeting with Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Trump floated the idea of having the U.S. take over Gaza after the war, remove all two million Palestinians, and redevelop it into a “riviera” inhabited by the “world’s people.” Subsequently, however, he has not given specifics about what the U.S. would push for in a lasting peace agreement.
“Trump really seems to want a deal. He wants to come to the meeting with Netanyahu with the image of a peacemaker,” Ghaith al-Omari, a former official with the Palestinian Authority, said in an interview. “What we haven’t heard is any clear American vision on what the day after the war looks like.”
In addition to the fate of Hamas, such an agreement would also have to decide the role of the Palestinian Authority, which de jure administers the Palestinian territories but has had no control over Gaza since it was kicked out by Hamas in 2007.
Another possible point of contention between Mr. Trump and Mr. Netanyahu is Iran.
The U.S. President said at the dinner that “we have scheduled Iran talks and they want to talk” about a permanent agreement to stop its nuclear program. Mr. Netanyahu, who ignored a previous request from Mr. Trump not to bomb while negotiation was still possible, may not be willing to go along with a renewed push from Washington for negotiations, Mr. al-Omari said.
Mr. Trump won the election last year in part on promises to swiftly end wars in Ukraine and Gaza but has so far struggled to achieve either. Negotiations between the previous administration of then-president Joe Biden, Mr. Trump’s advisers, Israel and Hamas led to a two-month ceasefire earlier this year, which Israel ended in the middle of March.
With a report from the Associated Press