Netanyahu to meet Trump in US to discuss future of Gaza truce

The meeting at Trump’s luxury Mar-a-Lago residence comes amid concerns among some White House officials that Israel and Hamas could delay the second phase of the ceasefire.

• Satellite images show that Israel has maintained a routine of demolitions in Gaza, despite the ceasefire
• Trump emissaries meet with Netanyahu after the attacks in Gaza; understand possible conflicts of interest in negotiation

Trump, who said Netanyahu had requested the meeting, would be eager to announce before January the formation of a technocratic Palestinian government for Gaza and the deployment of an international stabilization force.

The two leaders will meet at 1 p.m. (local time), the White House said.

Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said Netanyahu would address the second phase of the deal, which involves ensuring that “Hamas is disarmed and Gaza is demilitarized.”

However, Netanyahu will also try to shift the focus of the meeting to Iran, in what will be his fifth meeting this year with Trump in the United States. According to reports, the Israeli leader will seek to pressure the United States to increase strikes against Tehran’s nuclear program.

Netanyahu will also discuss “the danger that Iran poses not only to the Middle East region, but also to the United States,” Bedrosian said before boarding with the Israeli prime minister.

Netanyahu’s visit caps frenetic days of international diplomacy in Palm Beach, where Trump hosted his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Sunday to discuss ending the Russian invasion.

The Gaza ceasefire in October is one of the major successes of Trump’s first year back in office, but his administration and regional mediators want to maintain the momentum.

Trump’s international envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner hosted senior officials from the mediating countries, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, in Miami earlier this month.

The timing of the meeting with Netanyahu is “very important,” said Gershon Baskin, co-chair of the Two-State Alliance Peacebuilding Commission, which has participated in secret negotiations with Hamas.

– We must begin the second phase – he declared. He added that he believes “the Americans realize that it is already too late, because Hamas has had too much time to reestablish its presence.”

“Phase two is not progressing”

The first phase of the truce agreement involved the release by Hamas of hostages still held by the group – dead and alive – since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Hamas returned everyone except the body of one hostage. Both sides report frequent ceasefire violations.

As a second step, Israel should withdraw from its positions in Gaza, while Hamas should lay down its arms – a major sticking point for the Islamist movement.

In addition, an interim authority is to govern the Palestinian territory and the International Stabilization Force (ISF) will be sent.

American media outlet Axios reported Friday that Trump wanted to convene the first meeting of a new “Peace Council” for Gaza, which he would chair, at the forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January.

But he noted that senior White House officials were growing increasingly exasperated because they believed Netanyahu was making efforts to slow down the peace process.

– There are growing signs that the US administration is becoming frustrated with Netanyahu – said Yossi Mekelberg, a Middle East expert at the London think tank Chatham House.

– The question is what are you going to do about it (…) because phase two, at the moment, is not moving forward – he added.

Israel also continues to attack Hamas targets in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, despite the ceasefire in force. Syria will also be on the negotiating agenda.

Mekelberg noted that Netanyahu may try to shift attention from Gaza to Iran just as Israel enters an election year.