On the fifth day of his trip to the USA, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu visited former President Trump in Florida. The war against Hamas in Gaza was also discussed – at the same time, both politicians tried to cement their alliance.
For the first time in almost four years, Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have met. The former US President received the Israeli head of government and his wife Sara at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
In front of reporters, the guest from Israel presented Trump with a framed photograph which, according to Netanyahu, showed a child who was kidnapped by extremists in the terrorist attack led by Hamas on October 7. “We will take care of it,” Trump assured. Netanyahu and Trump then withdrew to talk with their advisers.
Trump secures Peace effort to
Trump said after the meeting in the presence of Netanyahu that the hostages held by Hamas must be released immediately. In a statement issued after the start of the talks, Trump assured that he would “work with all his might for peace in the Middle East” and fight anti-Semitism on US universities if American voters elect him president in November.
Netanyahu said he hoped his trip to the US would lead to a quicker ceasefire agreement. Time would tell whether they were now closer to an agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. There was movement in the talks, which was due to Israel's military pressure, Netanyahu explained.
Relationship was considered strained
During their meeting, the two politicians attempted to repair an important political alliance that had broken down after Netanyahu congratulated current US President Joe Biden on his victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential election. To this day, Trump has not acknowledged his defeat.
According to media reports, Netanyahu requested the meeting. After his visit, Trump rejected even the slightest hint of tensions with Israel's prime minister. “We have a very good relationship,” he said, referring to political changes during his presidency, including the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the United States' withdrawal from the international nuclear agreement with Iran.
Both Trump and Netanyahu have a strong political interest in overcoming their differences. For Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, the meeting could be useful for profiling himself as a statesman. At the same time, the visit underscored the Republicans' efforts to portray themselves as the party that is loyal to Israel.
Talks with Biden and Harris
Netanyahu's trip to Florida follows a speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday in which he defended the war-fighting conduct of his partly right-wing government, but also praised the former president.
He explicitly highlighted the so-called Abraham Accords. In 2020, under Trump's mediation, the Emirates and Bahrain were the first Gulf states to sign an agreement to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. “I would also like to thank President Trump for all the things he has done for Israel,” Netanyahu continued in his speech.
In talks in Washington on Thursday, US President Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump's likely Democratic rival for the presidency, urged Netanyahu to work with them to conclude negotiations on a ceasefire and the release of the hostages.
