WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to discuss several high-stakes issues in the Middle East when they meet for dinner Monday night, such as the long-term future of the Gaza Strip and the prospect of Israel normalizing relations with its Persian Gulf neighbors, according to two people with knowledge of the plans.
Trump has expressed urgency to secure an Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release deal, the subject of talks underway in Doha, Qatar.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss the recent U.S. airstrikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran, a surgical effort amid a broader Israeli war on the country, as part of a broader conversation about reducing instability in the region, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the private meeting publicly.
Netanyahu, who arrived in Washington a little after 1 a.m. Monday, first met with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and national security adviser, before having dinner with Trump.
It is Netanyahu’s third visit to the White House since Trump took office for a second time in January, a number that surpasses any other foreign leader. The two men are not personally close — and in fact have long harbored mutual suspicion — but have forged a working relationship out of necessity, allies of both say.
Any release of hostages in Gaza would need the agreement of Hamas, which has a new leader after Israel killed several of its top officials.
“The utmost priority for the president right now in the Middle East is to end the war in Gaza and to return all of the hostages,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters Monday afternoon. “There was a ceasefire proposal that Israel supports that was sent to Hamas, and we hope that they will agree to this proposal. We want to see all of the hostages released.”
Leavitt called the ceasefire proposal “agreeable and appropriate.” She added that Witkoff intends to travel this week to Doha, where he will engage in discussions that include representatives of Qatar and Egypt in attempting to negotiate an end to the conflict.
“I think we’re close to a deal on Gaza. Could have it this week,” Trump told reporters Sunday, adding, “I think there’s a good chance we have a deal with Hamas during the week.”
Trump is also likely to discuss the future of Gaza beyond a short-term ceasefire. In February, during Netanyahu’s first visit to Washington this year, Trump made a surprise announcement of his vision that some 2 million Palestinians be permanently relocated from the Gaza Strip to nearby countries so the United States could take over the territory and develop it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.” He later walked back that suggestion.
Arab countries have countered Trump’s proposal with their own vision, endorsing a plan to keep the population there, rebuild the territory and turn it into part of a future Palestinian state, without Hamas in government.
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