Tel Aviv [Israel], September 29 (ANI): Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed for Washington on Monday with his delegation to meet US President Donald Trump. The meeting is scheduled at the White House at 11:00 (EDT), with a joint statement expected at 13:15 (EDT), according to a post from the Prime Minister’s Office on X.
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, wished Netanyahu success ahead of the visit. “I wish Prime Minister @netanyahu great success in his important visit to Washington today and in his meeting with President @realDonaldTrump at the White House,” Danon wrote on X.
The visit has generated significant attention, with speculation that Trump may use the meeting and accompanying press conference to announce finalisation of an agreement aimed at ending the Gaza conflict and securing the release of remaining Israeli hostages. According to The Times of Israel, the US has secured initial support from Arab and Muslim partners for a postwar Gaza management plan. Israel, however, was still deliberating the proposal, while Hamas claimed it had not even been presented with it.
The plan, comprising 21 points, includes provisions that could proceed without Hamas’s consent, such as establishing a new transitional government of Palestinian technocrats and creating an international stabilisation force in areas cleared of Hamas presence — covering most of the Gaza Strip. Yet, without Hamas releasing 48 hostages, Israel is unlikely to halt its military operations in Gaza City and beyond.
Ahead of the meeting, Netanyahu reportedly held discussions with West Bank settlement leaders, signalling he will raise the issue of applying Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank. Netanyahu admitted to facing a “complicated reality,” indicating that annexation is improbable. Settlement leaders and right-wing allies have long urged sovereignty, particularly amid growing international recognition of a Palestinian state.
President Trump has categorically opposed Israeli annexation of the West Bank, while the UAE — which normalised relations with Israel five years ago — called such a move a “red line,” according to The Times of Israel. Netanyahu stated, “We have a supportive president. Remember the Obama era, when he told us not to lay even one brick.” He reinforced the stance that Israel’s message is “no to a Palestinian state, yes to applying sovereignty.”
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