Israel’s Netanyahu to meet with Trump at White House next week

Israeli PM will be the first foreign leader to meet US president at White House since his second inauguration last week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House next week, making him the first foreign leader to meet with Donald Trump in Washington, DC, since the United States president’s return to power.

The Israeli government confirmed on Tuesday that Trump invited Netanyahu the White House on February 4.

The announcement comes days after Trump called for Gaza to transfer its population to Jordan and Egypt — a proposal that was swiftly rejected by regional leaders, who likened it to ethnic cleansing.

Trump has taken credit for a fragile ceasefire agreement in Gaza that went into effect the day before his inauguration.

The deal has so far seen a temporary end to the fighting and the release of seven Israeli captives and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The pause has also allowed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return home to northern Gaza.

The Trump administration also brokered an extension to the truce in Lebanon, which effectively pushed the deadline for Israel’s complete withdrawal from the country — originally set for Monday — to February 18.

US President Donald Trump has invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a meeting in the White House on Tuesday, 4 February 2025.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is the first foreign leader to be invited to the White House during US President Trump's second term.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 28, 2025

But tensions are running high in the region, risking renewed fighting in both Gaza and Lebanon, with Netanyahu regularly threatening a return to the war.

Despite stressing his role in securing the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, Trump said last week he is “not confident” that the deal will hold.

“That’s not our war; it’s their war,” the US president told reporters.

The US provides Israel with billions of dollars each year in military aid. In one of his first decrees, Trump froze almost all international aid, except for military assistance to Egypt and Israel.

Last week, Trump also authorised the transfer of 900kg (2,000-pound) bombs to Israel, which had been paused by his predecessor, former US President Joe Biden, in May of last year.

Netanyahu, a leader for whom the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant over alleged war crimes in Gaza, expressed gratitude for that decision on Sunday.

“Thank you, President Trump, for keeping your promise to give Israel the tools it needs to defend itself, to confront our common enemies and to secure a future of peace and prosperity,” the Israeli prime minister said in a social media post.

Trump has been staunchly pro-Israel. During his first term, he moved the US embassy to Jerusalem and recognised Israel’s claims to Syria’s occupied Golan Heights.

But as a candidate and in his inauguration speech last week, Trump promised to pursue peace in US foreign policy.

“We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end. And, perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into,” he said after taking the oath of office.

“My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier.”