(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) President Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday, marking the Israeli leader’s third visit to Washington within six months. The private talks between the two leaders were expected to focus on the 12-day US-Israeli war against Iran and the potential Gaza ceasefire deal.
Ahead of the meeting, Axios reported that Israeli officials believed Trump would greenlight more Israeli attacks on Iran under certain circumstances, including if Iran attempts to restart its civilian nuclear program or tries to remove enriched uranium from the nuclear sites that the US bombed.
Speaking to reporters ahead of dinner with Netanyahu, Trump said that he wants a deal with Iran. Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said that he expects talks with Iran to resume within a week, although Iranian officials are saying they need a guarantee that Israel won’t attack again during the next round of negotiations.
Witkoff also said that there was an opportunity for a Gaza ceasefire deal, but it remains unclear if Trump is willing to put pressure on Netanyahu to achieve that goal. Drop Site News reported on Monday that there was “zero” progress at indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Doha as the two sides are awaiting the result of the Trump-Netanyahu meeting. In the meantime, Israel’s genocidal war continues with massive Palestinian casualties being inflicted each day.
Trump and Netanyahu were also asked about their previous calls for the “relocation” of Palestinians from Gaza. Netanyahu claimed he wanted only for the Palestinians in Gaza to have the “free choice” to leave if they desire.
Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have framed their desire for ethnic cleansing as “voluntary,” but the Israeli military campaign has been making Gaza uninhabitable. Both Netanyahu and Trump suggested that Arab countries in the region may be willing to take in Palestinians. “We’ve had great cooperation from surrounding … countries, great cooperation from every single one of them. So, something good will happen,” Trump said.
During the meeting, Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his role in war crimes in Gaza, also presented Trump with a letter nominating the American president for a Nobel Peace Prize. In the wake of the US-Israeli war with Iran, Trump has strongly backed Netanyahu and has called for an end to the corruption trial against him.
This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.
