Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Hold Talks with President Donald Trump in US Amidst Apprehensions of Israeli Wider Campaigns
Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet the US president at the presidential resort in Florida on Monday evening. This comes as worries mount that Israel could begin new offensives against enemies in the region, potentially sending the Middle East deeper into unrest.
The prime minister left Israel on Sunday, representing his fifth trip to see Trump in the United States over the past twelve months.
Truce in Gaza and Upcoming Hurdles
A key discussion point will be the halt in hostilities in Gaza, which in October halted the destructive two-year war. While the conditions for an first stage have been largely fulfilled, with Israeli forces retreating to new positions and Hamas freeing the surviving and almost all of the deceased hostages, significant challenges face the execution of the next stage of the president's 20-point plan.
There are also concerns that Israel will undertake new military campaigns against Hezbollah in Lebanon, breaking a ceasefire agreed upon more than a year ago, or against Iran, which it accuses of speeding up the development of ballistic missiles in the past few months.
“The first phase is essentially over, there’s one remaining Israeli deceased hostage which [Hamas] are having difficulty finding,” noted a peace-building expert.
The two adversaries trade accusations of violating the agreement. Hamas has declined to formally commit to laying down its weapons and has had notable achievements in asserting its control in the parts of Gaza where almost all population is concentrated. Israel appears unwilling to retreat from the 53% of Gaza it now controls or to allow the free passage of aid into the territory.
“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 remarked.
Civilian Toll and Present Situation
More than 70,000 Palestinians, largely civilians, lost their lives in Gaza during the war and the vast majority of the territory’s 2.3 million population was displaced. Approximately 400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the October ceasefire, and huge numbers continue to live in conditions of extreme difficulty.
In the past few weeks, downpours and cold temperatures have worsened the misery in Gaza, where most housing and infrastructure have been heavily damaged or destroyed.
The war was precipitated by a surprise attack by Hamas in southern Israel in 2023, in which 1,200 people, predominantly civilians, were killed and 250 others taken hostage.
Next Stages and Political Tensions
Under the subsequent phases of the roadmap, an transitional administration made up of nonaligned Palestinian technocrats is to run the Palestinian territory instead of Hamas. An international stabilisation force of thousands of troops is to be deployed.
US officials have suggested the composition of the new authority could be announced in January.
Reports indicate that senior US officials are becoming impatient “as Netanyahu has taken steps to weaken the unstable peace and delay the peace process”.
“There are growing evidence that the American administration is getting frustrated with Netanyahu,” commented a foreign policy specialist. “The question is what it’s going to do about it, because phase 2 is right now going nowhere.”
Netanyahu's Main Goals
For Netanyahu, a main goal will be convincing Trump to allow Israel to act to prevent Iran from repairing the damage inflicted on its nuclear programme or building its ballistic missile capabilities.
Meanwhile, efforts to secure a defence pact between Israel and Syria have failed to make significant progress and will also be discussed at Mar-a-Lago. Israeli officials have also called for more decisive measures to disarm Hezbollah.
Netanyahu faces an election within 10 months, and the upcoming polls will influence his agenda. “Everything is connected to [his] remaining in office,” an analyst said.
Surveys show Netanyahu’s current coalition would have a hard time to form a government if elections were held now. Many voters are frustrated over the failures that led to the 2023 Hamas raid, moves concerning military service exemptions, and a string of controversies.
A strong bond with Trump would strengthen Netanyahu’s appeal among swing voters and his base. This indicates any public disagreement between the two leaders is highly improbable, analysts said.
Netanyahu is expected to seek to make the case to Trump of the need for Israel to maintain a technological superiority over potential regional enemies. Many Israeli officials were shaken by earlier US comments regarding advanced weapons sales to other regional states.