Benjamin Netanyahu’s done it before…making positive noises about a Gaza truce before boarding a plane to America… only for it all to unravel after he lands. For the Israeli prime minister's third visit to the White House since Inauguration Day, the noises are more positive than they've been in a while... but hard evidence of progress is thin and these meetings with Donald Trump always feel loosely scripted, even improvised.
The last time Netanyahu visited the Oval Office, he was ambushed by a host who gushed about Turkey’s leader and announced direct talks with Iran. What about this time, after that 12-day war that roped in US fighter planes? We’ll ask about an eventual deal…
And how to feed Palestinian civilians forced to risk their lives each time they approach one of those US and Israeli-backed aid distribution centers, the ones that bypass international aid agencies. Could Sunday's announcement that Israel’s war cabinet approved aid for northern Gaza signal call time on that concept?
And then there’s the rebuilding of a territory that’s been flattened. Does Trump still cling to his Gaza Riviera real estate development plan? Does Israel want to occupy Gaza? The U-S wants normalization between Israel and the likes of Syria and Saudi Arabia. How badly… and where do Palestinians figure in all the grand bargaining?
Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Alessandro Xenos.
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Itamar RABINOVICH Former Israeli ambassador to the United States; President Emeritus of Tel Aviv University
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Ahmed FOUAD ALKHATIB Resident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
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Kethevane GORJESTANI FRANCE 24 International Affairs Editor; Former Washington correspondent
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Avi MEYERSTEIN Founder & President, Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP)
English (US) · 