Israeli PM Netanyahu meets President Trump in Florida to discuss stalled Gaza truce, Iran, and regional security as ceasefire progress falters
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump in Florida on Monday, an Israeli official confirmed.
This marks Netanyahu’s fifth visit to see the key ally in the United States this year.
The trip comes as the Trump administration and regional mediators push to proceed to the second stage of the Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
An Israeli official said Netanyahu would leave for the US on Sunday and meet with Trump a day later in Florida.
Trump told reporters in mid-December that Netanyahu would probably visit him in Florida during the Christmas holidays.
“He would like to see me. We haven’t set it up formally, but he’d like to see me,” Trump said before leaving for his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Israeli media reported a wide range of regional issues would be discussed, including Iran and the next stages of the Gaza deal.
Concerning Gaza, the timing of the meeting is “very significant”, said Gershon Baskin, co-head of the peacebuilding commission the Alliance for Two States.
“Phase one is basically over,” he told AFP, adding that phase two is late to begin.
Progress in moving to the second phase of October’s Gaza ceasefire agreement, brokered by Washington, has so far been slow.
Both sides allege frequent ceasefire violations and mediators fear that Israel and Hamas alike are stalling.
Under the next stages, Israel is supposed to withdraw from its positions in Gaza and an interim authority is to govern the territory.
It also includes a provision for Hamas to lay down its weapons, a major sticking point.
US news outlet Axios reported that the meeting was key to advancing the deal.
Citing White House officials, Axios said the Trump administration wanted to announce a Palestinian technocratic government for Gaza as soon as possible.
It reported that senior Trump officials were growing exasperated “as Netanyahu has taken steps to undermine the fragile ceasefire and stall the peace process”.
“There are more and more signs that the American administration is getting frustrated with Netanyahu,” said Yossi Mekelberg, a Middle East expert at Chatham House.
“The question is what it’s going to do about it,” he added, “because phase two is right now going nowhere.”
While the Trump administration is keen for progress on Gaza, analysts said Iran was likely to top the agenda for Netanyahu.
“All the news… about Iran building up its missiles… is all part of a planned strategy of deflecting attention from Gaza to the issue that Netanyahu loves to talk about which is Iran,” said Baskin.
Mekelberg shared the view that Netanyahu could be attempting to shift attention from Gaza onto Iran.
With Israel entering an election year, Mekelberg said Netanyahu would be “taking a defensive approach, to minimise what can be difficult for him coming back home”.
“Everything is connected to staying in power,” he said of the long-time Israeli premier.
