Skip to main content
Tags: israel palestinians hamas war news ceasefire hostages 02 02 2025

Israel's Netanyahu Heads to US to Discuss 'Victory over Hamas' With Trump

Israel's Netanyahu Heads to US to Discuss 'Victory over Hamas' With Trump

Sunday, 02 February 2025 08:11 AM EST

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Israel on Sunday for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump that he hopes will reset relations with Washington after tensions with the previous administration over the Gaza war.

Netanyahu, the first foreign leader to visit Trump since his inauguration last month, leaves with a six-week ceasefire in Gaza still holding and negotiations aimed at a second phase expected to begin this week.

"The decisions we made in the war have already changed the face of the Middle East," he said at the airport before his departure for the meeting expected on Tuesday.

"Our decisions and the courage of our soldiers have redrawn the map. But I believe that, working closely with President Trump, we can redraw it even further and for the better."

In his previous term, Trump handed Netanyahu a series of successes, including relocation of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and the signing of the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and a number of Arab states including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Trump's new administration includes several pro-Israel figures expected to endorse expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and resist international pressure over the war in Gaza.

POTENTIAL FOR MORE CHANGE

The war, which erupted in the wake of the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023 and drew in the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon, has upended the region, with the potential for more change to come.

As well as the ceasefire, talks are expected to focus on Saudi Arabia and Iran, which last year launched hundreds of missiles and drones against Israel.

Trump quit an international nuclear deal with Tehran in 2018 and both he and Netanyahu have vowed to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, concerns have grown in Iran that the new president might give Netanyahu the go-ahead to hit its nuclear sites.

Both leaders have also pushed to include Saudi Arabia in new regional arrangements building on the Abraham Accords, which Trump has said he expects it to join. Riyadh has also pledged a U.S. investment package that Trump wants to reach $1 trillion.

For Netanyahu, whose international isolation over the Gaza war was underlined by an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) on allegations of war crimes, the visit offers a chance to burnish his diplomatic credentials in Washington, which has come out strongly against the ICC.

Despite former president Joe Biden's support for Israel during the Gaza war, relations were often strained and Netanyahu has not visited the White House since returning to office at the end of 2022.

COMPETING PRESSURES

Netanyahu is also looking to balance competing pressures from his own coalition.

Israel's steadfast opposition to any move towards a Palestinian state, which has strengthened in the wake of the war in Gaza, stands as a potential obstacle to a deal with Saudi Arabia, which has previously insisted on at least agreeing a pathway to an independent Palestine.

The Gaza ceasefire deal, agreed with the involvement of Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, has also met strong opposition from hardliners who say it ended the fighting before Hamas was finally defeated.

Eldad Shavit, a former intelligence official who worked in the prime minister's office, said Netanyahu appeared to be balancing pressure from Trump to stick to the ceasefire and domestic opposition to the deal.

"He wants to make sure Trump is on his side, but he also wants to make sure his government doesn't collapse," he said.

© 2025 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.


Newsfront
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he will discuss "victory over Hamas," countering Iran and expanding diplomatic relations with Arab countries in his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.Tuesday's meeting at the White House will be Trump's first with...
israel palestinians hamas war news ceasefire hostages 02 02 2025
581
2025-11-02
Sunday, 02 February 2025 08:11 AM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.
Join the Newsmax Community
Read and Post Comments
Please review Community Guidelines before posting a comment.
 
TOP

Interest-Based Advertising | Do not sell or share my personal information

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Download the Newsmax App
NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved