Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will go to the USA to satisfy with President Donald Trump as regional turmoil approaches a boiling level amid Israel’s assaults in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria and mounting tensions with Iran.
Netanyahu is to carry talks with Trump on the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Monday as Washington pushes to finish the primary section of the Gaza truce.
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The go to comes because the US continues to pursue its 20-point “peace plan” within the Palestinian enclave regardless of near-daily Israeli violations of the truce.
Israel can be escalating assaults within the occupied West Financial institution, Lebanon and Syria as Israeli officers recommend that one other conflict with Iran is feasible.
What is going to Netanyahu focus on with Trump, and the place do US-Israel ties stand?
Al Jazeera appears on the prime minister’s journey to the US and the way it could play out.
When will Netanyahu arrive?
The Israeli prime minister will arrive within the US on Sunday. Nonetheless, the talks is not going to happen on the White Home. As an alternative, Netanyahu will meet Trump in Florida, the place the US president is spending the vacations.
The assembly between the 2 leaders is predicted to happen on Monday.
What number of occasions has Netanyahu visited Trump?
This will likely be Netanyahu’s fifth go to to the US in 10 months. The Israeli prime minister has been hosted by Trump greater than every other world chief.
In February, he grew to become the primary international chief to go to the White House after Trump returned to the presidency.
He visited once more in April and July. In September, he additionally met with Trump in Washington, DC, after the United Nations Basic Meeting in New York.
What has the connection between Trump and Netanyahu been like to date?
Netanyahu usually says Trump is the very best buddy Israel has ever had within the White Home.
Throughout his first time period, Trump pushed US coverage additional in favour of Israel’s right-wing authorities. He moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, recognised and claimed Israeli sovereignty over Syria’s occupied Golan Heights and minimize off funding to the United Nations company for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
Since returning to the White Home this 12 months, Trump has proven a better willingness to publicly disagree with Netanyahu. Nonetheless, his administration has supplied unflinching assist for Israel, together with the choice to resume the genocidal conflict on Gaza in March after a quick ceasefire.
Trump joined the Israeli assault on Iran in June to the dismay of some segments of his base. And he pushed to safe the present truce in Gaza.
The US president additionally opposed the Israeli attack on Doha in September. And he swiftly lifted sanctions in opposition to Syria regardless of some obvious Israeli reservations.
The ties between the 2 leaders have seen some peaks and valleys. In 2020, Trump was irked when Netanyahu rushed to congratulate Joe Biden on his election victory in opposition to Trump, who has falsely insisted the election was fraudulent.
“I haven’t spoken to him [Netanyahu] since,” Trump informed the Axios information web site in 2021. “F*** him.”
The sturdy ties between the 2 leaders have been rekindled after Trump received the presidency once more in 2024 and unleashed a crackdown on Palestinian rights activists within the US.
In November, Trump formally requested Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Netanyahu, who’s dealing with corruption prices at residence.
The 2 leaders, nevertheless, will not be in full alignment, and cracks of their positions are exhibiting up over points that embrace Gaza, Syria and the US partnerships with Turkiye and the Gulf states.
Throughout his US go to, Netanyahu could search to flatter Trump and undertaking a heat relationship with the US president to advance his agenda and sign to his political rivals in Israel that he nonetheless enjoys assist from Washington.
How has Netanyahu handled the US since October 7, 2023?
For the reason that outbreak of the conflict in Gaza, Netanyahu has requested for unchecked US diplomatic and army assist.
Then-President Biden travelled to Israel 11 days after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, assaults on southern Israel, and he declared that assist for the US ally is “very important for America’s nationwide safety”.
His “bear hug” of Netanyahu on arrival on the airport in Tel Aviv would set the stage for the US backing of Israel because it unleashed horror and destruction on Gaza, which has translated into greater than $21bn in army assist and a number of vetoes on the UN Safety Council over the previous two years.
Netanyahu has seized on the notion that Israel is an extension of US pursuits and safety construction. In a speech to the US Congress final 12 months, the prime minister argued that Israel is preventing Iran not directly in Gaza and Lebanon.
“We’re not solely defending ourselves. We’re defending you,” he informed US lawmakers.
All through the conflict, there have been numerous stories that Biden and Trump have been displeased or indignant with Netanyahu. However US weapons and political backing for Israel have continued to move uninterrupted. And Netanyahu makes some extent of at all times expressing gratitude to US presidents, even when there could also be obvious tensions.
The place does the US stand on the Gaza truce?
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned final week that the highest precedence for the Trump administration is to finish the primary stage of the Gaza ceasefire and transfer from mere cessation of hostilities to long-term governance, stabilisation and reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave.
Israel has been violating the ceasefire in Gaza recurrently, lately killing at the very least six Palestinians in an assault that focused a marriage.
However Trump, who claims to have introduced peace to the Center East for the primary time in 3,000 years, has targeted on broadly shifting the truce ahead slightly than on Israel’s day by day conduct.
“Nobody is arguing that the established order is sustainable in the long run, nor fascinating, and that’s why now we have a way of urgency about bringing section one to its full completion,” Rubio mentioned final week.
The highest US diplomat has additionally urged that there may very well be some flexibility on the subject of disarming Hamas underneath the settlement, saying the “baseline” ought to be making certain that the group doesn’t pose a risk to Israel slightly than eradicating the weapons of each fighter.
However Israel seems to be working with a distinct set of priorities. Defence Minister Israel Katz mentioned on Tuesday that the nation is trying to re-establish settlements in Gaza, that are unlawful underneath worldwide legislation.
He later walked again these feedback however careworn that Israel would preserve a everlasting army presence within the territory, which might violate the Trump plan.
Anticipate Gaza to be a key subject of debate between Netanyahu and Trump.
Can a Syria settlement be reached?
Trump has actually and figuratively embraced Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa over the previous 12 months, lifting sanctions in opposition to the nation and starting safety cooperation together with his authorities’s safety forces.
However Israel is pursuing its personal agenda in Syria. Hours after the collapse of the federal government of former President Bashar al-Assad a 12 months in the past, Israel started increasing its occupation of Syria past the Golan Heights.
Though the brand new Syrian authorities careworn early on that they didn’t search confrontation with Israel, the Israeli army launched a bombardment marketing campaign in opposition to Syria’s state and army establishments.
Israeli forces have additionally been conducting raids in southern Syria and abducting and disappearing residents.
After the Israeli army killed 13 Syrians in an air raid final month, Trump issued a veiled criticism of Israel.
“It is vitally vital that Israel preserve a robust and true dialogue with Syria and that nothing takes place that may intervene with Syria’s evolution right into a affluent state,” he mentioned.
Syria and Israel have been in talks earlier this 12 months to determine a safety settlement in need of full diplomatic normalisation. However the negotiations appeared to break down after Israeli leaders insisted on holding onto the land captured after al-Assad’s fall.
With Netanyahu on the town, Trump will possible renew the push for a Syria-Israel settlement.
Why is Iran again within the headlines?
Netanyahu’s go to comes amid louder alarm bells in Israel about Iran rebuilding its missile capability after their 12-day conflict in June.
NBC Information reported final week that the Israeli prime minister will temporary the US president about extra potential strikes in opposition to Iran.
The professional-Israel camp in Trump’s orbit appears to be already mobilising rhetorically in opposition to Iran’s missile programme.
US Senator Lindsey Graham visited Israel this month and known as Iran’s missiles a “actual risk” to Israel.
“This journey is about elevating the chance ballistic missiles pose to Israel,” Graham informed The Jerusalem Publish.
Trump authorised strikes in opposition to Iran’s nuclear websites throughout the June conflict, which he mentioned “obliterated” the Iranian nuclear programme.
Though there isn’t any proof that Iran has been weaponising its nuclear programme, fears a few attainable Iranian atomic bomb have been the driving public justification for the US involvement within the battle.
So will probably be onerous for Netanyahu to influence Trump to again a conflict in opposition to Iran, mentioned Sina Toossi, a senior fellow on the Heart for Worldwide Coverage.
The president is portraying himself as a peacemaker and prioritising a attainable confrontation with Venezuela.
“It may simply as effectively backfire on Netanyahu,” Toossi mentioned of the push for extra strikes in opposition to Iran. However he underscored that Trump is “unpredictable”, and he has surrounded himself with pro-Israel hawks, together with Rubio.
What’s the state of US-Israel relations?
Regardless of rising dissent on the left and proper of the US political spectrum, Trump’s assist for Israel stays unwavering.
This month, the US Congress passed a army spending invoice that features $600m in army assist to Israel.
The Trump administration has continued to keep away from even verbal criticism of Israel’s aggressive behaviour within the area, together with Gaza ceasefire violations and the growth of unlawful settlements within the West Financial institution.
At a White Home Hanukkah celebration on December 16, Trump bemoaned the rising scepticism of unconditional assist for Israel in Congress, falsely likening it to anti-Semitism.
“When you return 10, 12, 15 years in the past, on the most, the strongest foyer in Washington was the Jewish foyer. It was Israel. That’s not true,” Trump mentioned.
“You need to be very cautious. You could have a Congress specifically which is turning into anti-Semitic.”
Regardless of Trump’s place, analysts mentioned the hole between the strategic priorities of the US and Israel is rising.
Whereas Washington is pushing for financial cooperation within the Center East, Israel is searching for “whole dominance” over the area, together with US companions within the Gulf, Toossi mentioned.
“Israel is pushing this uncompromising posture and strategic goal that I believe goes to come back to a head extra with core US pursuits,” Toossi informed Al Jazeera.
What’s subsequent for the US-Israel alliance?
When you drive down Independence Avenue in Washington, DC, you’ll possible see extra Israeli than American flags displayed on the home windows of congressional workplaces.
Regardless of the shifting public opinion, Israel nonetheless has overwhelming assist in Congress and the White Home. And though criticism of Israel is rising inside the Republican base, Israel’s detractors have been pushed to the margins of the motion.
Marjorie Taylor Greene is leaving Congress; commentator Tucker Carlson is dealing with fixed assaults and accusations of anti-Semitism; and Congressman Tom Massie is dealing with a Trump-backed major challenger.
In the meantime, Trump’s inside circle is stuffed with staunch Israel supporters, together with Rubio, megadonor Miriam Adelson and radio present host Mark Levin.
However amid the erosion of public assist, particularly amongst younger folks, Israel could face a reckoning in American politics in the long run.
On the Democratic facet, a few of Israel’s strongest supporters in Congress are dealing with major challenges from progressive candidates who’re centring Palestinian rights.
Probably the most highly effective pro-Israel lobbying group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), is more and more turning into a toxic brand for Democrats.
On the precise, the faultlines within the consensus in assist of Israel are rising wider. That development was placed on show on the right-wing AmericaFest convention this month when debates raged round assist for Israel, a subject that was a foregone conclusion for conservatives just a few years in the past.
Though the Trump administration has been pushing to codify opposition to Zionism as anti-Semitism to punish Palestinian rights supporters, Vice President JD Vance has introduced a extra nuanced view on the difficulty.
“What is definitely occurring is that there’s a actual backlash to a consensus view in American international coverage,” Vance lately informed the UnHerd web site.
“I believe we must have that dialog and never attempt to shut it down. Most People will not be anti-Semitic – they’re by no means going to be anti-Semitic – and I believe we should always give attention to the actual debate.”
Backside line, the currents are altering, however the US dedication to Israel stays strong – for now.
