Netanyahu Requests Meeting with Trump, Politico Reports
Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked to meet with former President Donald Trump, according to reports by Politico on Thursday. The meeting is expected to discuss ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the latest developments in the Middle East.
The meeting, if held, would mark the first in-person interaction between Netanyahu and Trump since Trump’s presidential tenure ended in January 2021. During Trump’s presidency, Netanyahu formed close ties with the former president, with their relationships marked by significant U.S. backing for Israel on major international issues.
Politico reports that Netanyahu, now an opposition leader in Israel after his November 2022 general election defeat, made the request for a meeting amid escalating tensions between Israel and the Islamic Hamas militant group, which governs the Gaza Strip.
Recent escalations include a series of air raid sirens and rockets, amid claims by both sides. In an effort to soothe tensions, Netanyahu is also reportedly reaching out to regional Arab powers, such as Saudi Arabia, in anticipation of the Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic track moving forward.
During their meetings in 2019 and 2020, Trump and Netanyahu forged deep bonds over shared right-leaning ideology, frequently meeting to address matters related to the Middle East’s fragile regional balance of power, with specific focus on Israel-U.S. security cooperation, U.S. policy shifts on Israeli-settlement expansion, and Middle Eastern policy under Trump.
If his request is granted, a meeting would put Trump’s diplomatic expertise alongside that of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in addressing recent violent episodes. Blinken would continue the Trump administration’s more lenient stance towards illegal settlement expansions while maintaining Washington’s close diplomatic ties with both Palestine and Arab regional powers.
Despite Israeli elections that saw the Labor party winning the most seats this week, polls suggest the hard-right nationalist Likud has taken up the largest space of Netanyahu, who maintains party influence while still recovering election setbacks. For now, he finds an old ally in the States as Israel’s security crisis persists: Former U.S. President Trump and ex-Iran negotiators say it’s time to act once again for Mideast conflict resolve