Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to begin talks today Monday on a second phase of the ceasefire with Hamas as he visits the new Trump administration in Washington.
Before departing, Netanyahu told reporters he would discuss “victory over Hamas”, countering Iran and freeing all hostages when he meets President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
It will be Trump’s first meeting with a foreign leader since returning to the White House in January, a prioritisation Netanyahu called “telling”.
“I think it’s a testimony to the strength of the Israeli-American alliance,” he said before boarding his flight.
With fragile ceasefires holding in both Gaza and Lebanon — where an Israeli campaign badly weakened Iran-backed Hezbollah — Israel has recently turned its focus to the occupied West Bank, where an operation it says is aimed at rooting out extremism has killed dozens.
Netanyahu said Israel’s wartime decisions had reshaped the Middle East and that with Trump’s support, this could go even further.
“I believe that working closely with President Trump, we can redraw it (Middle East’s map) even further and for the better.”
Credit : France24News