Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to the United States to meet with US President Donald Trump. Trump confirmed this in an interview with Politico.
“Zelensky and Bibi will come to see me. They are all coming. They are showing respect for our country again“, Trump said.
He did not specify when the meetings would take place. Politico reports that they will take place this weekend. According to Axios, Trump will meet with both at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida: with Zelensky on December 28 and with Netanyahu on December 29.
White House officials told the publication that the meeting with the Israeli prime minister would be “important“ to resolve the war between Israel and Hamas and move to the second phase of the US peace plan for the Gaza Strip. Axios sources said Trump plans to make several major announcements on the issue in early January, but the next steps depend on a meeting with Netanyahu.
According to Axios, the Israeli prime minister initiated the meeting: he presented the idea in a phone call on December 1. Trump replied that he would be happy to attend. Netanyahu's team then spread the word that the meeting would be held at Mar-a-Lago and insisted that the White House agree on a date. Trump was initially hesitant to meet with Netanyahu for the fifth time in his nearly year-long presidency, but the meeting before the New Year later turned out to be advantageous for Washington, given the peace plan.