Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed to Washington on Sunday, April 6th, after receiving a surprise invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump. Netanyahu met with Trump at the White House yesterday to discuss a number of vital issues, most notably the tariffs imposed by the U.S. administration on most imported products, including Israeli products. They also discussed the prisoner exchange deal, negotiations with Iran, and other issues. This is the second meeting between the two leaders since Trump took office in January. It is worth noting that this visit was not on the official agenda of either party but came about unexpectedly following a brief phone call regarding the tariffs, during which Trump told Netanyahu, “Come to me and we’ll talk about it.” This spontaneous invitation became a central moment that Netanyahu aimed to use to confront a series of crises on both the domestic and regional levels by leveraging and activating his personal relationship with Trump.

First: The Timing of Netanyahu’s Visit

Netanyahu’s visit to Washington comes amid a number of significant regional developments. The visit coincides with the tripartite summit in Cairo between Egypt, France, and Jordan, as well as the significant visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Egypt just hours before the Trump-Netanyahu meeting, which is set to last several days. This context adds further importance to the visit. These developments can be summarized as follows:

Resumption of Military Escalation in Gaza and the Occupation of Rafah:
The Israeli occupation army expanded its ground operation in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip—its largest escalation since resuming the war on March 18, following Israel’s breach of the ceasefire agreement. The operation aims to seize control of the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, allowing for the potential displacement of Palestinian residents westward to the Al-Mawasi area and expanding operations toward Khan Younis. By executing what a military expert described as a “pincer” operation from the south and east, the occupation aims to divide the Strip via strategic corridors such as Philadelphi, Kissufim, and Netzarim. This escalation also included a horrific crime in the Tel Al-Sultan neighborhood in southern Rafah, where the Israeli army committed a massacre known as the “Paramedics Massacre,” targeting medical personnel in a military operation.

The Tripartite Summit in Cairo:
Parallel to Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, a summit was held between Egypt, France, and Jordan in Cairo. The summit included a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Jordan’s King Abdullah II, at a critical time of rising military tensions in the region. This summit reflected a strategic alignment in regional coordination among the three countries, sending a clear message that the United States cannot manage the regional file alone. France is playing a pivotal role in achieving balance and moderation in the region and can even compensate for the absence of U.S. leadership. It also served as a coordinated regional response to U.S. and Israeli policies in the region, especially regarding Palestinian displacement and the humanitarian consequences of the crisis in Gaza. This regional coordination emphasizes France’s role as a strong balancer in the regional landscape and reflects its desire to impose equilibrium in the international handling of the Palestinian and Middle Eastern files.

Impact of the Call on Netanyahu’s Visit Coordination:
The phone call between the three leaders and the U.S. received wide coverage, with conflicting accounts about who initiated it—French President Emmanuel Macron, according to the Élysée Palace, or U.S. President Donald Trump, according to the American website Axios. Regardless of the debate, the key point is the call’s occurrence at this sensitive time. It caused a disruption in coordinating Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump, leading to the last-minute cancellation of a press conference. This raised questions about the sudden change in protocol, though the conference was quickly rescheduled and held unexpectedly.

Second: Key Topics of the Second Netanyahu-Trump Meeting

The second meeting between Netanyahu and Trump covered several important topics, including:

1. Ceasefire and Prisoner Exchange:
The Gaza file topped the discussions. Trump opened by expressing cautious optimism about the nearing end of military operations in the besieged Palestinian enclave, emphasizing his administration’s intense diplomatic efforts to reach a new and comprehensive ceasefire agreement. He partially based his assessment on his personal testimony about meeting ten recently released Israeli hostages and hearing their horrifying stories of “atrocities” committed by Hamas. On the other hand, Netanyahu affirmed his strong commitment to continuous, direct communication with the families of hostages still being held in inhumane conditions in Gaza. He stressed that the Israeli government is doing its utmost through diplomatic and intelligence channels to secure a fair agreement for their immediate release and safe return.

2. The Future of Gaza:
During the deep and thorny discussion about Gaza’s current and future state, President Trump reiterated his personal vision. He described Gaza in harsh and blunt terms as “a death trap” and a place fraught with immense danger, requiring many years and vast resources for comprehensive reconstruction after its infrastructure and homes were devastated by ongoing conflict. In a striking and controversial statement, Trump announced his intention to name the Gaza Strip a “Freedom Zone” after achieving the goal of “removing the population.” This was widely understood as either an implicit endorsement or even a direct call for the forced displacement of Palestinians from the Strip to other areas or countries. He praised Prime Minister Netanyahu’s statement about “empowering Gaza residents to have the option to leave for other countries,” referring to so-called “voluntary displacement.”

3. Nuclear Talks with Iran and the Houthi File:
Regarding the Houthis, Trump described U.S. military operations targeting Houthi sites and militias as “painful” and damaging to the Iran-backed group. He highlighted the alarming development of Houthi capabilities in manufacturing and using advanced drones, posing a real threat to international navigation, global trade routes, and overall regional security. Nonetheless, Trump stressed the effectiveness of the American military response to these escalating threats. He strongly emphasized the immediate and complete cessation of all forms of Iranian military, financial, and logistical support to the Houthis in their ongoing war against Yemen’s legitimate government.
Shifting to the thorny Iranian nuclear file, Trump announced a notable strategic move—beginning “direct negotiations” between the U.S. and Iran, with the declared primary objective of definitively preventing Tehran from developing or obtaining any type of nuclear weapon that could shift the regional power balance. Trump stated that reaching a comprehensive and sustainable diplomatic agreement to serve this crucial goal is “preferable” and ultimately in Iran’s own interest. He stressed the critical importance of including Israel as a strategic ally in any deal reached with Iran concerning its nuclear program, given the regional sensitivity and the need to avoid potential military confrontations. Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s firm and absolute opposition to Iran possessing nuclear weapons under any circumstances, confirming full alignment with the U.S. administration’s stance. Trump later revealed a high-level meeting scheduled for next Saturday with senior Iranian officials, expressing hope for positive and fruitful results to reduce regional tensions—while warning that the alternative to failed negotiations would be “a major danger” threatening Iran directly and necessitating prevention of its nuclear armament by any means necessary.

4. Tariffs and Israel’s Economic Concerns:
The economic file held significant space in the bilateral discussions. Trump unequivocally ruled out suspending or freezing the new tariffs that sparked international concern and triggered noticeable turmoil in global financial markets. He maintained that many countries would inevitably seek bilateral negotiations with the U.S. for “fair” trade deals from his protectionist perspective. In contrast, Netanyahu took a proactive stance and proposed an alternative solution: pledging to “eliminate” the trade deficit between Israel and the U.S., calling balanced trade “the right thing” and suggesting Israel could be a “model for many other countries.” This can be seen as a symbolic economic concession or goodwill gesture in exchange for a potential exemption or reduction in U.S. tariffs. Trump did not hesitate to threaten other economic pressure tools as negotiation levers, publicly announcing a potential 50% tariff on Chinese imports unless Beijing abandons its announced retaliatory plans. In a separate context, Trump explained his administration’s lack of tariffs on the Russian Federation by citing the ongoing war in Ukraine and the complex, tense bilateral relations between Washington and Moscow.

5. Syria and the Role of U.S.-Turkish Mediation:
The discussion extended to another critical regional issue. Netanyahu notably referred to the strong personal relationship between Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, describing it as a unique opportunity for the U.S. to play an effective and impartial mediating role between Israel and Turkey. This clearly reflects an Israeli desire to leverage U.S. influence and its special relationship with Ankara to improve strained bilateral ties or at least manage the existing disputes amid the complexities of the Syrian scene and the entanglement of conflicting regional and international interests—ultimately serving Israeli interests in Syria.

Conclusion:

Netanyahu’s emergency visit to Washington amid these rapidly evolving regional developments—with its vital discussions on ceasefire and hostage exchanges in Gaza, the Strip’s uncertain future, the Iranian nuclear file, the impact of trade sanctions, and attempts to leverage U.S. influence in the Syrian-Turkish file—marks a critical juncture that reveals the depth of Israel’s internal and regional crises. It also underscores Netanyahu’s efforts to invest in his personal relationship with President Trump as a tool to confront these challenges. However, the complex overlap of these sensitive issues, coinciding with other regional and international moves—foremost among them the Cairo tripartite summit and the high-level phone call—points to an extremely fluid and complicated scene, making predictions about the outcomes and future impact of this visit on Gaza and the region at large highly difficult.

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