US President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida on Monday for crucial talks on moving to the next stage of the fragile Gaza truce plan.
The two leaders also discussed Iran, with Trump saying that if Tehran rebuilt its nuclear facilities the United States would “knock them down.”
Trump played down reports of tensions with Netanyahu, saying that “he can be very difficult” but that Israel “might not exist” without his leadership following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attacks.
“We have about five major subjects that we’re discussing, and Gaza will be one of those,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort ahead of the bilateral meeting.
Trump called again on Hamas to disarm as part of the next phase of October’s Gaza ceasefire, after the Palestinian group’s armed wing vowed to keep its weapons.
“There has to be a disarming of Hamas,” Trump said.
Netanyahu responded by saying that “we’ve never had a friend like President Trump in the White House.”
The Israeli premier also met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ahead of his talks with Trump.
The meeting, the fifth between the two leaders to be held in the United States this year, comes as some White House officials fear both Israel and Hamas are slow-walking the second phase of their ceasefire.
Trump is reportedly keen to announce as soon as January a Palestinian technocratic government to replace Hamas’s rule in Gaza, and the deployment of an international stabilization force.
– Fragile ceasefire –
Netanyahu’s visit caps a frantic few days of international diplomacy in Palm Beach, where Trump hosted Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday for talks on ending Russia’s invasion.
The Gaza ceasefire in October is one of the major achievements of Trump’s first year back in power, but his administration and regional mediators want to keep up the momentum.
The first phase of the truce deal stipulated that Hamas release the remaining hostages, both dead and alive, taken during its 2023 attack on Israel. The group has so far returned all the living captives and the remains of all but one.
Under the second stage, Israel is supposed to withdraw from its positions in Gaza, while Hamas is supposed to lay down its weapons.
An interim authority is meant to govern the Palestinian territory, and the international stabilization force (ISF) is to be deployed.
Both sides, however, have alleged frequent ceasefire violations.
Hamas’s armed wing reiterated earlier on Monday that it would not surrender its weapons.
“Our people are defending themselves and will not give up their weapons as long as the occupation remains,” the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a video message.
– ‘Harsher consequences’ –
The Axios news outlet reported on Friday that Trump wanted to convene the first meeting of a new Gaza “Board of Peace” that he will chair at the Davos forum in Switzerland in January.
But it said that senior White House officials were growing exasperated with what they viewed as efforts by Netanyahu to stall the peace process.
The Israeli and US administrations are increasingly at odds on many key issues, including Israel’s continued strikes on Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and in Syria.
On Iran, Israeli officials and media have expressed concern in recent months that Iran is rebuilding its ballistic missile arsenal after it came under attack during the 12-day war with Israel in June.
Trump told reporters Monday he believed Tehran wanted to make a deal but warned it would face a repeat of US attacks on its nuclear facilities “fast” if it tried to rebuild its program.
Iran on Monday denounced the reports as a “psychological operation” against Tehran, emphasizing it was fully prepared to defend itself, and warning renewed aggression would “result in harsher consequences” for Israel.
Trump added that he hoped Netanyahu could “get along” with the new president of Syria, the former commander of an armed Islamist rebel group, following the toppling of Bashar al-Assad last year.
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