Netanyahu visits Trump: Who else is he meeting, and what’s on the agenda?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived in the United States to meet with President Donald Trump and his administration officials to discuss a Gaza ceasefire agreement and his Middle East plan. The visit's agenda also includes the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, Iran and its allies, and Arab neighbors in the Middle East.

Netanyahu was warmly welcomed by senior Israeli officials upon his arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Sunday, with an honor guard holding American and Israeli flags. The focus of this visit includes who he will meet with, what the agenda is, and the significance of this trip.

Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Steve Witkoff on Monday, the new U.S. special envoy for the Middle East, who is widely credited with helping to broker the Gaza ceasefire agreement that went into effect in January. On Tuesday afternoon, Netanyahu will meet with Trump at the White House. Additionally, he will meet with U.S. military leaders at the Pentagon on Wednesday and with members of Congress on Thursday.

The timing of this visit is crucial as Israel, Hamas, and mediating countries negotiate the second phase of a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu has repeatedly stated his intention to resume fighting as soon as possible and maintain Israel's military occupation of parts of Syria and Lebanon. Netanyahu is facing political pressure after a far-right minister resigned, needing to ensure his coalition can demonstrate military dominance in the region, including expanding military attacks.

Prior to his departure for the United States, Netanyahu stated that he would focus on the goals Israel has set for the Gaza war, including the complete defeat of Hamas and the release of all hostages held in Gaza. He also emphasized the need to "deal with the Iranian terror axis and all its components," referring to the "axis of resistance" led by Tehran. Meanwhile, Hamas appears to have rapidly regained control of Gaza, and stressed that it will not release more hostages in the second phase if Israel does not fulfill its promises to end the military occupation of the region.

Netanyahu said that the decisions made by Israel and the United States during the war have changed the face of the Middle East, and he intends to "redraw the map further, to make it better." He also hopes to further normalize relations with Arab countries in the region, despite the devastation of the war, and Trump's plan to "clean up" Gaza by pressuring Egypt and Jordan to accept hundreds of thousands more displaced Palestinians. Both the governments in Cairo and Amman have rejected Trump's proposal.

During Trump's first term, the two leaders forged a strong alliance when Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moved the U.S. embassy there. Trump also recognized Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights and brokered the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. But after President Joe Biden won, Netanyahu was quick to congratulate him, unlike many of Trump's other close allies who hesitated or echoed his unsubstantiated claims of election fraud.

Trump was reportedly furious about this, and the two did not have much contact. But their relationship gradually recovered after Netanyahu returned to power in Israel with a far-right government in early 2023, although Trump has occasionally criticized the handling of the Gaza war. Netanyahu said that Trump's invitation for him to visit first after his inauguration is a testament to "the strength of the Israel-U.S. alliance" and "the strength of our personal friendship."

Netanyahu's visit is also expected to be met with protests. During his visit to Washington last year, U.S. lawmakers broke the record for the number of standing ovations during his speech to Congress. Similar street demonstrations and online protests and condemnations are expected this time. Similar to Netanyahu's last visit, some Democratic lawmakers may also choose to skip any speeches and meetings, or express their criticism of the unconditional U.S. support for Israel, despite Israel having killed over 61,700 Palestinians in Gaza, and thousands more in Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank and Lebanon. Israel also continues to occupy parts of Lebanon and Syria.