The Israeli Prime Minister will be the first foreign leader to meet the American president at the White House since his second inauguration last week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House next week, making him the first foreign leader to meet Donald Trump in Washington, DC, since the return of the American president.
The Israeli government confirmed on Tuesday that Trump invited Netanyahu the White House on February 4.
The announcement comes a few days after Trump called Gaza to transfer its population to Jordan and Egypt – a proposal that was quickly rejected by regional leaders, who compared it to ethnic cleaning.
Trump took the credit of a fragile cease-fire agreement in Gaza which came into force the day before its inauguration.
The agreement has so far experienced a temporary end to fighting and the release of seven Israeli captives and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The break also allowed the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return home to northern Gaza.
The Trump administration also negotiated an extension of the truce in Lebanon, which has effectively pushed the deadline for the full withdrawal of Israel from the country – originally from Monday – until February 18.
President Donald Trump invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a meeting at the White House on Tuesday, February 4, 2025.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is the first foreign leader to be invited to the White House during the second term of US President Trump.
– Prime Minister of Israel (@israelipm) January 28, 2025
But tensions are raised in the region, risking renewed fighting in Gaza and Lebanon, Netanyahu regularly threatening a return to war.
Despite the fact of highlighting his role in the conclusion of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, Trump said last week that he was “not confident” that the agreement would hold.
“It is not our war; It is their war, “the American president told journalists.
The United States provides Israel with billions of dollars each year of military aid. In one of his first decrees, Trump froze almost all international aid, with the exception of military aid to Egypt and Israel.
Last week, Trump also authorized the transfer of 900 kg of bombs (2,000 pounds) to Israel, who had been interrupted by his predecessor, former American president Joe Biden, in May of last year.
Netanyahu, a chief for whom the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against alleged war crimes in Gaza, gratitude for this decision on Sunday.
“Thank you, President Trump, for having kept your promise to give Israel the tools he needs to defend himself, to confront our common enemies and to obtain a future of peace and prosperity,” said Prime Minister Israeli in a social media position.
Trump was firmly pro-Israeli. During his first mandate, he moved the United States Embassy in Jerusalem and recognized Israeli’s claims at the heights of Golan occupied in Syria.
But as a candidate and in his inauguration speech last week, Trump promised to continue peace in the United States foreign policy.
“We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars we are finishing. And, perhaps the most important, the wars in which we never enter, “he said after taking an oath.
“My most proud heritage will be that of a peacemaker and a unifying.”