Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with US President Donald Trump this evening. The meeting is seen as one of the most critical Israel-US summits in recent years. But Netanyahu goes into the meeting under mounting pressure.<\/p>\n
On one side is Trump, who, based on his public statements, desires to implement the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, end the war in Gaza, and advance a significant US-Saudi deal, including normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. However, behind closed doors, Trump may convey different messages to Netanyahu, adding an element of uncertainty to the proceedings.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and former minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, represent another source of pressure. Netanyahu and his team have been reassuring them that the US administration is supportive of their agenda and will assist in realizing their plans for Gaza. This rhetoric is specifically aimed at appeasing the far-right leaders and maintaining the coalition’s stability.<\/p>\n
In an effort to keep his coalition intact, Netanyahu continues to promise Smotrich and Ben-Gvir that negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement will likely fail, allowing Israel to return to its original plan of completely eliminating Hamas and taking control of large parts of Gaza. This strategy aims to satisfy the far-right’s demands and maintain their support within the coalition.<\/p>\n
A senior Israeli official, speaking to Haaretz<\/i>, revealed that the government is also considering extending the ceasefire. One proposal under discussion involves the expulsion of Hamas leaders, a step believed to prevent the organization from retaining control over Gaza. Netanyahu and the Trump administration are reportedly in agreement on this issue, indicating a potential alignment of interests.<\/p>\n
When asked about the US position on Israel’s potential withdrawal from the agreements reached under the deal, the official stated that “efforts are underway to resolve this equation.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with US President Donald Trump this evening. The meeting is seen as one of the most critical Israel-US summits in recent years. But Netanyahu goes into the meeting under mounting pressure. On one side is Trump, who, based on his public statements, desires to implement the second phase […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7624,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1138,4833,1211,5980,3281,906,319,5975,1072,1334,1612,1628,294,5976,5982,812,5983,5974,5979,2280,950,5984,1262,5977,5981,679,821,1644,5978],"class_list":["post-7623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middleeast","tag-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-bezalel-smotrich","tag-ceasefire","tag-ceasefire-extension","tag-coalition","tag-diplomatic-relations","tag-donald-trump","tag-expulsion","tag-far-right","tag-gaza","tag-gaza-conflict","tag-haaretz","tag-hamas","tag-hamas-leaders","tag-international-negotiations","tag-israel","tag-israel-saudi-relations","tag-israel-us-relations","tag-israeli-politics","tag-itamar-ben-gvir","tag-middle-east","tag-middle-east-peace-process","tag-normalization","tag-peace-negotiations","tag-political-pressure","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-us","tag-us-foreign-policy","tag-us-saudi-deal"],"yoast_head":"\n