Trump’s upcoming White House meeting with Netanyahu is expected to focus on Gaza and tariffs
PALM BEACH GARDENS Fla AP President Donald Trump plans to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday in what would be their second White House sit-down since Trump s return to office The visit authenticated by a White House official Saturday comes as Israel is setting up a new defense corridor across Gaza to pressure Hamas and Netanyahu s defense minister has disclosed Israel would seize large areas of the territory and add them to its so-called guard zones Israeli strikes killed more than a dozen people in Gaza on Friday a day after attacks killed at least Palestinians Hundreds more have died in the past two weeks as Israel has stepped up operations intended to pressure Hamas to release remaining hostages it took during its attack on Israel in October Israel has pledged to escalate the war with Hamas until the militant group returns the hostages disarms and leaves the territory Israel ended a ceasefire in March and has imposed a halt on all imports of food fuel and humanitarian aid The leaders are expected to focus on the latest Israeli bombardment of Gaza and new U S tariffs stated by Trump against Israel and other countries Trump s first invitation of his second term to a foreign leader went to Netanyahu and their Feb meeting was meant to focus on Israel s war with Hamas and the next policies as a ceasefire deal took hold At a joint news conference Trump made the surprise proposal that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the territory and he suggested that the United States take ownership in redeveloping the area into the Riviera of the Middle East Palestinians objected to leaving their homeland and Arab nations and rights groups sharply criticized the idea Last month Israel shattered the ceasefire with a surprise bombardment in Gaza after trying to pressure Hamas to accept proposed new terms for the ceasefire The White House supported the move That February meeting gave Netanyahu a chance to remind the world of the Trump administration s promotion for Israel defend the conduct of the war and distract from political pressures back home Those pressures have only grown as Israelis protest both the lack of a deal to bring remaining hostages home from Gaza and Netanyahu s moves to fire the head of the country s domestic assurance agency and its attorney general He also faces calls to accept responsibility for his role in failing to prevent the Oct Hamas-led attack that sparked the war In a report relatives of hostages held in Gaza pleaded with Trump to please use all your power to pressure Netanyahu to end this war and bring our hostages back now We are addressing President Trump Netanyahu is lying when he says that military pressure will bring back the abductees The only way to expeditiously return all the abductees is to end the war and return them all in one fell swoop Ifat Calderon aunt of hostage Ofer Calderon reported in Tel Aviv Israel Hamas says it will only release the remaining hostages of whom are concluded to be alive in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli pullout from Gaza The Hamas-led attack on southern Israel killed about people mostly civilians A few hostages the majority of whom have since been disclosed in ceasefire agreements and other deals were taken More than Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as part of Israel s offensive according to Gaza s Medical Ministry which doesn t say whether those killed are civilians or combatants Israel says it has killed around militants without providing evidence Netanyahu is requested by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza The U S is not a member of the court Meanwhile police arrested two of his close associates this week on suspicion of accepting money from Qatar to promote a positive image of the Gulf Arab state in Israel Qatar is a key mediator for Hamas in its negotiations with Israel but denies backing the militant group Netanyahu says the situation is baseless He is the subject of a long-running corruption trial and regularly rails against a deep state that he alleges is out to get him He has tried to dismiss the head of Israel s domestic precaution agency which is also reviewing the prime minister s office s alleged links to Qatar Trump says the first foreign trip of his second administration will include stops in Saudi Arabia Qatar and possibly the United Arab Emirates and other places The trip could come as soon as May Trump has explained he wants to reward Saudi Arabia for its stake in the U S and that all three Gulf countries would be making commitments to creating jobs in the U S during his trip Associated Press writers Natalie Melzer in Jerusalem Darlene Superville in Washington and Cara Anna contributed to this review Source
