Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Confer with President Donald Trump in US Amid Apprehensions of Israel's Regional Campaigns
Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to sit down with the US president at the presidential resort in Florida on Monday evening. This takes place as anxieties grow that Israel could launch new operations against neighboring adversaries, possibly dragging the Middle East further into turmoil.
The prime minister departed Israel on Sunday, marking his fifth trip to see Trump in the United States over the past twelve months.
Halt in Fighting in Gaza and Pending Challenges
A top priority will be the halt in hostilities in Gaza, which in October stopped the lengthy two-year war. While the conditions for an opening period have been for the most part completed, with Israeli forces pulling back to new positions and Hamas freeing all living and nearly all of the deceased hostages, significant challenges confront the implementation of the next stage of the US-brokered 20-point plan.
There are also concerns that Israel will undertake new offensives against Hezbollah in Lebanon, violating a ceasefire established more than a year ago, or against Iran, which it accuses of ramping up the manufacture of ballistic missiles in recent months.
“The first phase is practically over, there’s one remaining Israeli deceased hostage which [Hamas] are having difficulty finding,” noted a peace-building expert.
Each party blame one another of violating the agreement. Hamas has declined to explicitly commit to laying down its weapons and has had notable achievements in re-establishing its rule in the parts of Gaza where the vast majority of population is situated. Israel appears unwilling to withdraw from the 53% of Gaza it now controls or to permit the unhindered flow of aid into the strip.
“Phase 2 has to begin … and I think the Americans realise that it’s late because Hamas has had too much time to reorganize and this is absolutely not a situation that the Americans want to allow to continue,” the expert added.
Civilian Impact and Current Conditions
More than 70,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, died in Gaza during the war and almost all the territory’s 2.3 million population was forced from their homes. Roughly 400 Palestinians have perished in Gaza since the October ceasefire, and vast multitudes continue to live in conditions of acute hardship.
In recent weeks, torrential rains and freezing conditions have exacerbated the plight in Gaza, where most housing and infrastructure have been badly damaged or destroyed.
The war was sparked by a unexpected offensive by Hamas in southern Israel in 2023, in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 250 others taken hostage.
Subsequent Phases and Political Tensions
Under the future steps of the US proposal, an interim authority made up of unaffiliated Palestinian specialists is to run the Palestinian territory instead of Hamas. An multinational peacekeeping force of thousands of troops is to be deployed.
US officials have suggested the membership of the new authority could be made public in January.
Reports indicate that senior US officials are increasingly exasperated “as Netanyahu has taken steps to weaken the unstable peace and stall the peace process”.
“There are more and more signs that the American administration is getting frustrated with Netanyahu,” commented a Middle East expert. “The question is what it’s going to do about it, because the second phase is right now going nowhere fast.”
Netanyahu's Priorities
For Netanyahu, a priority will be persuading Trump to allow Israel to act to prevent Iran from repairing the damage inflicted on its nuclear programme or enhancing its ballistic missile capabilities.
Meanwhile, efforts to secure a defence pact between Israel and Syria have not advanced meaningfully and will also be on the agenda at Mar-a-Lago. Israeli officials have also called for more effective efforts to disarm Hezbollah.
Netanyahu is confronted with an election within 10 months, and the upcoming polls will affect his agenda. “Everything is connected to [his] political survival,” an analyst said.
Surveys show Netanyahu’s current coalition would face difficulties to form a government if elections were held now. Many voters are angry over the failures that led to the 2023 Hamas raid, moves concerning military service exemptions, and a string of controversies.
A close relationship with Trump would strengthen Netanyahu’s appeal among undecided voters and his base. This suggests any public disagreement between the two leaders is highly improbable, analysts said.
Netanyahu is expected to seek to persuade Trump of the need for Israel to maintain a defence advantage over potential regional enemies. Many Israeli officials were concerned by earlier US comments regarding advanced weapons sales to other regional states.
