Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing for crucial talks with US President Donald Trump on Monday in Washington as the US proposes a new plan that could end the nearly two-year-long war in Gaza, the Financial Times reported, quoted by BTA.
Netanyahu will meet with the US president at the White House for the fourth time since Trump returned to power in January. No other world leader has visited the White House so many times since Trump took office for a second term, but Israeli officials are bracing for a potentially tense conversation about the war in Gaza.
Last week in New York, during meetings at the UN headquarters, Trump presented a new plan to end the war to Arab and Islamic leaders, which provides for a permanent ceasefire, the release of all remaining Israeli hostages held by “Hamas“, and the deployment of an international stabilization force in the besieged enclave. According to the plan, an international supervisory body would oversee a Palestinian commission that would govern the territory during a transitional period.
Trump is expected to present Netanyahu with his 21-point plan to end the war in the Gaza Strip tomorrow, the “Times of Israel” reported. This plan includes both the immediate release of the remaining hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the enclave. “Hamas“ will play no role in the Gaza Strip, but Israel will not have the right to annex Palestinian territory. Instead, a transitional government will be established.
The American president announced on the eve of the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House that one can expect “something special, something unprecedented“ in the Middle East peace talks, Agence France-Presse reported.
“We have a real opportunity to achieve something great in the Middle East. Everyone is ready for something special, for something that is happening for the first time. "We will succeed," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
In a controversial speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, Netanyahu made no mention of the Trump-backed plan and stressed that Israel would "finish the job" against "Hamas" in Gaza and would not allow the creation of a Palestinian state, which much of the international community is demanding.
The Israeli leader reiterated his conditions for ending the war, including the release of the 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive, and the disarmament of "Hamas." Netanyahu also ruled out any role in Gaza for the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the occupied West Bank, the Financial Times reported.
An Israeli official said last week that Israel was "aware" of the US-backed plan for Gaza, but that "everything that is implemented will be with Israel's consent. Without it, nothing will happen." Another Israeli official went further, adding that there was "anxiety" and "chaos" among the Israeli delegation leaving for the US. The British publication said this suggested that various Arab governments had influenced Trump to "back a plan that contradicts" of the Israeli position.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners today called on him to annex parts of the West Bank and continue the war in Gaza in order to achieve a complete military victory over “Hamas“, DPA reports.
Trump recently said he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank - an area that the Palestinians hope will be part of their future state.
It is claimed that Trump's plan also proposes a path to a future Palestinian state as a result of peace talks brokered by the US. At this stage, Netanyahu is still categorically opposed to such proposals.
Under pressure from his ultra-nationalist political allies, Netanyahu is unwilling to end the offensive against “Hamas“ until a “complete victory” is achieved over the Palestinian group. This month he expanded operations into Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians still live, the Financial Times reported.
The far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a post on the social media site X that Netanyahu had no mandate to end the war without achieving a complete victory over Hamas.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has made three main demands regarding Trump's plan, Israeli television channel H12 reported. Smotrich insists that the Palestinian Authority be stripped of any role in governing Gaza or the West Bank. The Israeli finance minister also wants the Hamas movement to be completely disbanded and disarmed, and for Israel to annex parts of the West Bank without recognizing Palestinian statehood, which contradicts calls from the international community.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said over the weekend that the Israeli army was "intensifying attacks" on Gaza City. "If Hamas does not surrender, Gaza City will be destroyed, and Hamas will be destroyed." "liquidated," he added in an article in "Express."
The Israeli far right was angered last week after Trump told reporters that he "will not allow" the annexation of the West Bank. "Enough, it's time to stop," Trump said.
Netanyahu relies on his far-right coalition partners to stay in power, as his government continues to expand Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, DPA noted.
The "Hamas" group said today that it had received no new proposals from international mediators and that talks on a ceasefire deal in exchange for hostages had been stalled since the beginning of the month after Israel carried out a strike in the Qatari capital, Doha, targeting the movement's leadership.
Ahead of tomorrow's key meeting at the White House, both leaders are under pressure, Trump - from his Arab and Islamic allies, and Netanyahu - from far-right members of his government. The US president has so far refrained from lecturing the Israeli prime minister, but this time he seems to be firm about settling the escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has long caused Trump nothing but headaches.