In Washington to “redesign” the Middle East with Donald Trump. Benyamin Netanyahu He flew to the United States – among the few countries where he does not risk arrest on the mandate of the International Criminal Court – to be received on Tuesday by the American President to the White House as the first foreign leader from the Tycoon settlement. «A testimony of the strength of the Israeli-American alliance. And also of the strength of our personal friendship, “said the premier on the scale of the plane before leaving. The hope of Netanyahu is to see the strategic collaboration with Trump confirmed, which already during the first term proved to be a precious friend of Israel, and to receive that support that he serves to definitively drive Hamas from the Gaza Strip and conferate «L ‘Iranian terrorist axis in all its components “. “The decisions we made in the war have already changed the face of the Middle East,” said the premier. «Our decisions and the courage of our soldiers have redesigned the map. But I believe that by working closely with President Trump, we can redesign it even more, and for the better ».
Netanyahu’s visit to Washington comes while The start of the indirect interviews on phase two of the truce agreement is awaitedwhich entered into force on January 19, which should lead to the release of other Israeli hostages (about 20 have yet to be freed in this first phase, on 76 – live and dead – still in Gaza), to the prolongation of the ceased the fire and the retreat of the IDF from the strip. Based on the agreement, the new negotiations should have started on Monday in Doha: the Qatar premier, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman at Thani, urged the parts to start the work, but admitted that he did not have “clear details on the arrival of the negotiators” . Netanyahu, under pressure from the extreme right of his government who would like to resume the fighting immediately after phase one, would have postponed the departure of the Israeli negotiating team to DOHA until his interview with Tuesday. According to Channel 12, he also replaced David Barnea, head of Mossad, with the faithful minister for strategic affairs Ron Dermer at the helm of the negotiating team. Before leaving, the premier spoke with the US Special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, agreeing that the discussions on the second phase will begin in their meeting in Washington, on the eve of the one with Trump. Witkoff will then hear the other mediators, Qatar and Egypt, before still discussing with Netanyahu “the steps to advance the negotiations, including the dates for the departure of the delegations”.
Everything therefore seems suspended pending the summit to the White House. For its part, Trump – who has played a role in achieving the current agreement even before his settlement – will press with Netanyahu to broaden the Abraham agreements and start normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia, whose negotiations had been suspended From the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023. But this for Riad can only happen with the creation of a Palestinian state, which Israel is currently not willing to grant. Furthermore, there is a fear, writes Haaretz, that Trump’s insistence to move the civilians of Gaza to Egypt and Jordan during the reconstruction of the strip can hinder the negotiations by transforming himself into another card in Hamas’ hands. Five Arab countries – including Cairo and Amman – have opposed the initiative. The question will surely be addressed by King Abdallah, invited on February 11 in the oval study