U.S. President Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday, seeking to push forward a peace framework for Gaza amid mounting international recognition of Palestinian statehood and Israel’s deepening global isolation.
The meeting, Netanyahu’s fourth visit to Washington since Trump’s return to office in January, comes as the Gaza war approaches its second year and frustration grows over the humanitarian toll and stalled negotiations.
Trump said on Sunday he hopes Netanyahu will agree to a plan aimed not only at ending the fighting in Gaza and securing the release of hostages, but also at advancing a broader Middle East peace initiative.
“We’re getting a very good response because Bibi wants to make the deal too. Everybody wants to make the deal,” Trump told Reuters, crediting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Jordan, and Egypt for their involvement. “It’s called peace in the Middle East, more than Gaza. Gaza is a part of it. But it’s peace in the Middle East.”
According to U.S. officials, the draft 21-point plan circulated last week at the U.N. General Assembly calls for the release of all hostages, a halt to Israeli strikes in Qatar, and renewed dialogue with Palestinians toward “peaceful coexistence.”
Israel has yet to formally respond, with one senior official cautioning it was “too early to tell” whether an agreement is possible.
Netanyahu faces mounting pressure from families of hostages and a war-weary Israeli public, while his far-right coalition partners continue to reject Palestinian statehood and urge annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank.
Trump, however, has warned Israel not to move ahead with annexation, saying it would jeopardize the Abraham Accords, the normalization deals his first administration brokered with several Arab states.
The White House meeting follows Netanyahu’s combative appearance at the U.N., where many delegates walked out during his address and he denounced Western recognition of Palestinian statehood as a “disgraceful decision” that rewarded terrorism.
Britain, France, Canada, Australia and other U.S. allies formally backed Palestinian independence last week in a significant diplomatic shift.
Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel, according to official tallies.
Since then, more than 65,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to local health authorities, with much of the enclave reduced to rubble, hunger spreading, and an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu for alleged war crimes.
Israel denies wrongdoing and rejects the court’s jurisdiction.
While Trump and Netanyahu remain closely aligned, analysts warn that Monday’s talks could expose differences over how to balance Israel’s security demands with international pressure for a credible peace path.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
