Netanyahu heads to Washington for high-stakes talks with Trump

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will depart from Israel to Washington DC on Sunday morning ahead of a series of meetings with US President Donald Trump and a host of senior American officials.

The prime minister’s anticipated meeting with Trump, scheduled for Tuesday, is expected to involved discussions on the ongoing Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, the Iranian threat, normalization with Saudi Arabia, and the state of play in Syria and Lebanon.

Israeli officials who met Steve Witkoff, Trump’s presidential special envoy to the Middle East, during his visit to Jerusalem last week, received the impression that the US president is aiming to reach the second phase of the hostage deal, which includes the release of further hostages in return for the continuation of the ceasefire and the release of more Palestinian terrorists and prisoners.

While Hamas is demanding a full halt to the war in order for the second phase to be implemented, Netanyahu has been stating he would refuse such a demand.One option that was discussed as a means of bridging the gap between Israel and Hamas was that of extending the current phase beyond its initial 42-day timespan. The extension would include few more rounds of hostage releases, with the ceasefire extended for the duration.

Hostage deal negotiations

However, the assumption among Israel’s political echelon is such that, even if talks to create a ‘phase 1.5’ are successful, Hamas will eventually bring the ceasefire to a halt due to Israel refusing to end the war and resuming fighting in Gaza.

On Saturday evening, before Netanyahu’s flight to the US, the Prime Minister’s Office denied reports that he intends to appoint Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer to replace Mossad Director David Barnea as lead negotiator in the hostage and ceasefire deal: “The reports are not correct, decisions regarding the negotiations will be made only after the prime minister returns.”Iran will also be a topic of discussion between Netanyahu and Trump.The prime minister is seeking the US president’s help in striking Iranian nuclear facilities, with Israel expected to need bunker-buster bombs for any operation on sites located on Iranian soil. Trump, on the other hand, has in the past week made notions on attempting to solve the standoff using diplomacy.

Netanyahu’s spokesperson Omer Dostri told the Jerusalem Post on Friday that if Israel’s goals regarding Iran can be achieved without a war, that is fine by the prime minister, but there is huge doubt on how much diplomacy can solve the issue.

One of Trump’s main targets is the issue of normalization between Jerusalem and Riyadh, after his first administration failing in bringing the two together as part of the Abraham Accords.Steve Witkoff was in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks on the issue.

As discussed in the meeting, the Saudis continue to demand a permanent end to the war in Gaza, in addition to some kind of a ‘day-after’ vision, to be presented by Netanyahu. These demands are perceived to be politically impossible for the prime minister at this point.While Netanyahu was originally scheduled to stay in DC until Thursday, the visit is expected to be extended, meaning the prime minister will only fly back to Israel on Saturday night.In his trip, the prime minister will meet also State Secretary Marco Rubio, national security advisor Mike Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and senior members from the US Senate and Congress.