President Trump to host Israeli PM at the White House
(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump will welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday, making him the first head of state to visit the White House in Trump’s second term.
Among the most important topics between the two will be how to keep the ceasefire deal with Hamas intact.
Negotiations for the second phase of a permanent ceasefire were supposed to start Monday, but Netanyahu delayed talks until he personally met with Trump.
President Joe Biden announced a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal between Israel and Hamas days before leaving office. Though it occurred during the Biden administration, Trump has said he deserves credit for making the deal happen.
But Trump has not been confident about the long-term prospects for the truce.
“I have no guarantees that the peace is going to hold,” Trump told reporters on Monday.
The deal includes multiple phases. Phase one will include the release of 33 Israeli hostages, including all women, children and men over 50 years old.
Under the deal, a permanent ceasefire would come with both sides agreeing on who will be in power when the fighting ends.
Many families of the hostages who were taken by Hamas on Oct. 7 are concerned that the ceasefire deal could fall apart over contention about Gaza’s new leadership.
Both Netanyahu and Trump say Hamas cannot remain in power.
Another tenant of that ceasefire deal is the total withdrawal of Israeli troops, which Netanyahu has been staunchly against.
That leaves much to be hammered out before the deal can reach phase two.
Netanyahu has already held meetings with national security adviser Michael Waltz and Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle Eastern envoy.
Trump is scheduled to meet one-on-one with Netanyahu before more meetings with both of their extended cabinet members.
The two are expected to keep the focus on keeping the ceasefires intact in both Lebanon and Gaza.