Empty Gaza of all its residents and settle them around the world | Trump’s plan, alongside Netanyahu

Itamar Eichner in Washington|

A fateful summit that could shape the face of the Middle East for years to come: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the White House Tuesday evening for a meeting with President Donald Trump that will address a variety of critical issues on the agenda – from the negotiations that have now opened on phase two of the hostage deal, through the Iranian threat and the question of a possible attack on its nuclear facilities, to the long-awaited normalization with Saudi Arabia.

Netanyahu, the first foreign leader Trump has hosted at the White House since his return to the presidency, was supposed to arrive at the White House as early as 11:00 p.m. but was delayed by about 20 minutes. Trump waited for him at the entrance, shook his hand and raised his fist to reporters waiting outside. Before their meeting in the Oval Office they spoke to reporters inside the room and when asked if he thought the deal could be completed, Trump replied: “Why not? Yes, of course. We can definitely finish the deal” – meaning continue with the second phase of the cease-fire and hostage return agreement.

Trump also claimed that he deserved a Nobel Prize. “But they won’t give it to me. Everyone is demanding peace, we want people to stop getting killed,” he said. Netanyahu was asked if he supported the release of all the hostages, and he replied yes – but emphasized that he insisted on delivering “all the war goals,” including the dismantling of Hamas and a promise that Gaza would never again become a threat to Israel.

The prime minister was asked if he was optimistic about the possibility of reaching the second phase of the deal, and he replied: “We will try, that’s one of the things we will talk about. When Israel and the US work together, the chances increase – when we don’t work together, it creates problems,” he said, appearing to be alluding to past tensions with the Biden administration.

Later, President Trump was asked about his relocation plan for Gazans – and he again claimed that the Palestinians should be evacuated from the Strip, while unlike previous times he now called for “resettlement” of them permanently outside the Strip.

“I don’t think people should be going back,” Trump said. “You can’t live in Gaza right now. I think we need another location. I think it should be a location that’s going to make people happy. You look over the decades, it’s all death in Gaza. This has been happening for years. It’s all death. If we can get a beautiful area to resettle people, permanently, in nice homes where they can be happy and not be shot and not be killed and not be knifed to death like what’s happening in Gaza.”

He added that “I hope we can do something nice, why would they want to go back? This place is hell, it’s the worst place in the world.” He emphasized, however, that he does not support Israeli settlements in Gaza: “I don’t see it happening. It’s too dangerous. Nobody would want to live there, soldiers don’t want to be there, so how would people want to settle it? The best way is to get out, find nice, open places with sunlight, they (the Palestinians) wouldn’t want to go back to Gaza.”

Shortly after midnight, Trump and Netanyahu are scheduled to hold a press conference, and then continue to have a joint dinner. Netanyahu is accompanied on the visit by his wife Sara, who has been in Miami for the last 70 days and met with him after he landed in Washington on Sunday. First Lady Melania Trump will not accompany her husband to the meeting, since she is not currently in Washington.

At the summit, the two leaders will discuss a variety of critical issues, not all of which they necessarily have compatible interests in. “He came to meet with me, and I’m here to listen,” Trump said before the meeting.

The most central and immediate issue is the question of continuing the hostage deal. Trump and his people have repeatedly made it clear that they want to maintain the cease-fire and continue with the second phase – which means a permanent cease-fire, and the end of the war – and although the American president admitted that there are “no guarantees” that the agreement will last, ahead of the meeting a senior American official said that Trump is focused on releasing “all the hostages ,” along with the need to prevent Hamas from returning to power in Gaza.

Netanyahu is expected to present to Trump the demands that Israel will raise in negotiations on phase two – including the demilitarization of the Strip, the exile of the Hamas leadership, and the terrorist organization’s non-involvement in the reconstruction of the Strip “the day after.” Israel understands that the chances that Hamas will agree to this are slim, and that therefore there will be no escape from a return to fighting. Netanyahu will try to get Trump to ratify his promise that if an agreement on the second phase cannot be reached, Israel will be able to return to fighting.

The issue of the deal is closely linked to another central issue that Trump and Netanyahu will discuss – the Iranian threat. Netanyahu is expected to try to convince Trump that in the order of priorities in the Middle East, it is better and right to start dealing with this threat. He will argue that this will also serve the interests of the Saudis and “give time” to make decisions regarding the Gaza Strip. His critics claim that the prime minister is actually hoping to torpedo phase two of the deal, in the shadow of the fear of the dissolution of his government with the “red lines” of Minister Bezalel Smotrich in the background, who promises to withdraw from the coalition if fighting does not resume at the end of phase one.

Trump did not rule out the possibility of an attack on the nuclear facilities, but he repeatedly signaled that he intended to promote a “deal” – that is, a new nuclear agreement – ​​and noted that “it would be nice” to resolve the crisis with Tehran without an Israeli attack. On Tuesday evening, Trump said that he intended to contact Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, adding that he was “torn” while signing the tougher sanctions. “I hope we don’t have to use them a lot, I’m not happy about using them.”

Shortly before the summit, Trump ordered a renewal of his “maximum pressure” policy from his first term – meaning tougher sanctions on Iran than those already imposed. Trump warned that Iran was too close to a nuclear weapon, but said on the other hand that he was “torn” about the move and expressed hope that it would not be necessary to implement it extensively, meaning to reach an agreement with Tehran.

The possibility of normalization with Saudi Arabia will also be raised at the meeting, with estimates that such a move could be part of the “inducement package” that Trump will offer Netanyahu to continue to Phase 2 – despite the political risk for him. However, there is a major obstacle in the way: Netanyahu refuses the condition set by the Saudis for such a deal – providing a “political horizon” for the Palestinians, which Smotrich also set as a “red line” for him.

Other issues expected to be raised at the meeting include the arrest warrants against Netanyahu at the International Criminal Court in The Hague and sanctions on Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan and his team; the continuation of the cease-fire in Lebanon; the attitude toward the new government in Syria; and the beginning of discussions on the security memorandum of understanding between Israel and the U.S. The current memorandum is set to expire in 2028.

Netanyahu and his wife are staying at Blair House, the official White House guest house. Their son Yair is also there, and tonight he posted a photo of himself alongside his father and billionaire Elon Musk – a Trump confidante who wields immense power in the new administration. “So grateful to be in the company of these two geniuses,” Yair wrote on Instagram.

On Wednesday, the Netanyahus will leave Blair House and move a few hundred meters away – to the Willard Hotel – where they will spend the weekend. The entourage will return to Israel on Saturday night, and their stay at the Willard Hotel will be financed by taxpayer money. The Prime Minister’s Office said that the extension of their stay in Washington stems from “numerous requests for meetings from officials.”

Daniel Adelson and Yael Ceichanover participated in preparing this article.