Netanyahu and Trump to meet on 29 December amid moderate tensions over Gaza and the West Bank
Israel's Channel 12 has reported that Netanyahu and Trump are expected to hold two meetings during the Israeli prime minister's eight-day visit to the United States
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Donald Trump in the United States on 29 December, as both countries consider different perspectives on the next steps to implement the United States' 20-point plan for Gaza.
It will be Netanyahu's fifth visit to meet with Trump in the United States since the beginning of the year and comes after the prime minister said he hoped the second phase of the US-sponsored ceasefire plan for Gaza would begin soon.
‘The meeting between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu will take place on Monday, 29 December,’ said Shosh Bedrosian, spokesperson for the prime minister's office.
Israel's Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu and Trump were expected to meet twice during an eight-day visit to the United States by the Israeli prime minister. It said Netanyahu would visit Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Netanyahu said on Sunday that he would meet with Trump in late December to discuss ‘opportunities for peace’ in the Middle East, and his office said he was invited to the White House during a phone call with the president. Netanyahu also said he hoped the second phase of the Gaza truce plan would begin soon.
‘We hope to move very soon to the second phase, which is more difficult,’ he said. The first phase of the truce, in effect since 10 October, has halted the war that began after Hamas' deadly attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. Militants have also released 47 of the 48 hostages held in Gaza, including the last 20 living captives.
The second stage of the plan concerns the disarmament of Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli forces while a transitional authority is established, and the deployment of an international stabilisation force (ISF).
The United States is Israel's main military and diplomatic supporter, but areas of tension have emerged between the two allies, including the issue of Israel's annexation of the occupied West Bank.
Several members of Netanyahu's government have called for the territory to be annexed, but Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio have expressed strong opposition to such a move.
While Israel wants to exercise full control over the course of events in Gaza, the Trump administration seeks to further cement its future role in the enclave.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, who visited Israel this week, told Netanyahu and other officials that the Trump administration will lead the ISF and appoint a two-star general as its commander, Axios reported.
President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that the announcement about which world leaders will serve on the Gaza Peace Board, which will oversee the course of events in the enclave, should be made early next year. ‘It will be one of the most legendary boards in history. Everyone wants to be on it,’ Trump said at the White House on Wednesday.
Israel wants the second phase of the Gaza truce agreement to begin only after it receives the last body of hostages and its army makes further progress in reducing the military presence of Hamas and other militant groups in the enclave.
‘Much of (the second phase) is open to interpretation, which in the Middle East is both the best and the worst,’ an Israeli official told CNN. ‘The question is whether, in the meantime, Hamas will remain there and that's it: we'll just get used to it and accept it,’ another Israeli official said.
