Days after his defiant speech at the United Nations rejecting demands to end the war in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to confer with his most important supporter.
But Monday’s meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington comes at a tenuous moment. Israel is increasingly isolated, losing support from many countries that were long its steadfast allies. At home, Netanyahu’s governing coalition appears more fragile than ever. And the White House is showing signs of impatience.
The question now is whether Trump, who has offered steadfast backing to Netanyahu throughout the war, will change his tone and turn up the pressure on Israel to finally wind down the conflict.
In a post Sunday on social media, the president said: “We have a real chance for GREATNESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. ALL ARE ON BOARD FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL, FIRST TIME EVER. WE WILL GET IT DONE!!!”
Trump and Netanyahu are scheduled to meet in the Oval Office, and a joint press conference is expected later.
The uncertainty surrounding the meeting casts it as “one of the most critical” in the yearslong relationship between the two leaders, said professor Eytan Gilboa, an expert on US-Israeli relations at Bar-Ilan and Reichman universities.
“Netanyahu might have to choose between Trump and his coalition members,” a number of whom want the war to continue, Gilboa said. A move by Netanyahu to end the war would leave him on shaky political ground at home a year before elections.
Oded Ailam, a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, agreed that Trump is likely to demand a permanent ceasefire, leaving Netanyahu with few options. Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to continue the offensive until Hamas is destroyed.
