Sources close to the U.S. government told Axios that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be visiting the White House next week, most likely on Monday.
Several issues will be addressed during the meeting, among which will be the war in Gaza, the Iranian nuclear crisis, and, of course, the recent duties imposed by the MAGA leader on imports from various countries around the world.
However, in order to travel to the U.S. Netanyahu will have to request the judges working on his corruption trial in Israel for a pause in the hearings scheduled for the next few days, during which he was supposed to continue his testimony. For this reason, the PM’s presence at the White House has not yet been confirmed.
On Thursday, Trump called Netanyahu and Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán while the Israeli prime minister was visiting Budapest. The call was prompted by Hungary’s decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. However, during the call the parties also discussed tariffs. The U.S. president imposed 17 percent tariffs on Israel. Trump then suggested that Netanyahu travel to Washington DC as soon as possible to talk in person about this rather thorny topic.
On Friday, aboard Air Force One, the MAGA leader later revealed to reporters that he would most likely meet with the Israeli leader next week. The U.S. president’s statements surprised Netanyahu himself, who had initially planned to fly to the States in late April, or during Passover week.
The meeting will address issues other than tariffs as well. Netanyahu believes the chances of a nuclear deal between the United States and Iran are extremely low and wants to reach an understanding with Trump on the possibility of striking Iranian nuclear facilities.
The two will also likely discuss the stalled efforts to reach a new agreement on the Gaza hostages and ceasefire.
