Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with US President Donald Trump
Washington: President Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks at the White House next Monday, according to two US administration officials.
The visit comes as the US leader has begun stepping up his push on the Israeli government and Hamas to broker a ceasefire and hostage agreement and bring about an end to the war in Gaza.
The officials were not authorised to comment publicly on the visit that hasn’t been formally announced and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Netanyahu’s visit comes after Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer’s visit to Washington this week for talks with senior administration officials on a Gaza ceasefire, Iran and other matters.
The president in public comments has signalled he’s turning his attention to bringing a close to the fighting between Israel and Hamas, since the ceasefire to end 12 days of fighting between Israel and Iran took hold a week ago.
Trump on Friday told reporters, “We think within the next week we’re going to get a ceasefire” in Gaza, but didn’t offer any further explanation for his optimism.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt earlier on Monday said Trump and administration officials were in constant communication with Israeli leadership and bringing about an end to the Gaza conflict is a priority for Trump.It’s heartbreaking to see the images that have come out from both Israel and Gaza throughout this war, and the president wants to see it end. He wants to save lives,” Leavitt added.
An eight-week ceasefire was reached as Trump took office earlier this year, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.
Talks between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly faltered over a major sticking point — whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire agreement. About 50 hostages remain captive in Gaza, with less than half believed to be alive.
The timing of Netanyahu’s visit to Washington was first reported by Axios.
Trump will embrace Netanyahu as he pushes back against skeptical questions from Democratic lawmakers and others about how far US and Israeli strikes have set back Iran’s nuclear programme.
A preliminary report issued by the US Defense Intelligence Agency, meanwhile, said the strikes did significant damage to the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan sites, but did not totally destroy the facilities.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said on CBS Face the Nation on Sunday that the three Iranian sites with “capabilities in terms of treatment, conversion and enrichment of uranium have been destroyed to an important degree”.
But, he added some is still standing and that because capabilities remain, “if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again.
He said assessing the full damage comes down to Iran allowing inspectors access.
Trump in recent days has also inserted himself into Israeli domestic affairs, calling for charges against Netanyahu in his ongoing corruption trial to be thrown out.
Trump’s in a social media post last week condemned the trial as a “WITCH HUNT”, and vowed that the United States will be the one who “saves” Netanyahu from serious corruption charges.
The decision by Trump to plunge himself into one of Israel’s most heated debates has unnerved some in its political class.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration on Monday approved a new half-billion-dollar arms sale to Israel to resupply its military with bomb guidance kits for precision munitions.
The State Department said the sale is worth USD 510 million. It includes more than 7,000 guidance kits for two different types of Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or JDAMs.
The deal is relatively small given that the U.S. provides Israel with more than USD 3 billion annually in military aid. But Israel has relied on JDAMs and other related US weaponry in its war against Hamas in Gaza and its recent strikes against Iran.
“The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability,” the department said in a statement.
“This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives.”
