Trump to host Israel's Netanyahu at the White House as he increases pressure for a Gaza ceasefire
Donald Trump is set to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Monday, bringing the two men together for the first time since the president ordered an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.
The visit comes as the U.S. leader has begun stepping up his push on the Israeli government to broker a ceasefire and hostage agreement and bring about an end to the war in Gaza.
Trump has been a strong backer of Netanyahu, ultimately lining up behind his bombing campaign against Iran before pressing Israel and Iran to agree to a ceasefire after the U.S. dropped 'bunker buster' bombs on Iran's Fordow facility.
Netanyahu's visit comes after Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer's visit to Washington this week for talks with senior administration officials on a Gaza ceasefire, Iran and other matters.
Trump immediately after taking office floated dramatic plans to 'own and develop' Gaza and temporarily relocate many of the estimated 2 million people who live there.
The president in public comments has signaled he's turning his attention to bringing a close to the fighting between Israel and Hamas, since the ceasefire to end 12 days of fighting between Israel and Iran took hold a week ago.
Trump on Friday told reporters, 'We think within the next week we're going to get a ceasefire' in Gaza, but didn't offer any further explanation for his optimism.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt earlier on Monday said Trump and administration officials were in constant communication with Israeli leadership and bringing about an end to the Gaza conflict is a priority for Trump.
'It's heartbreaking to see the images that have come out from both Israel and Gaza throughout this war, and the president wants to see it end,' Leavitt added. 'He wants to save lives.'
'This has been a priority for the President since he took office, to end this brutal war in Gaza,' Leavitt told reporters.
She also said the 'main priority for the President also remains to bring all of the hostages home out of Gaza.'
Trump last week defended Netanyahu in his long-running legal troubles, and called for the cancellation of his trial on corruption charges.
'It is INSANITY doing what the out-of-control prosecutors are doing to Bibi Netanyahu,' Trump wrote, in what in the past would have been considered an unusual step into a country's internal politics.
He then issued a threat: 'The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar [sic] a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this.'
Two officials who were not authorized to comment publicly on the visit confirmed it, although it hasn't been formally announced.
Trump will embrace Netanyahu as he pushes back against skeptical questions from Democratic lawmakers and others about how far U.S. and Israeli strikes have set back Iran's nuclear program.
A preliminary report issued by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, meanwhile, said the strikes did significant damage to the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan sites, but did not totally destroy the facilities.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said on CBS' 'Face the Nation' on Sunday that the three Iranian sites with 'capabilities in terms of treatment, conversion and enrichment of uranium have been destroyed to an important degree.' But, he added, 'some is still standing' and that because capabilities remain, 'if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again.' He said assessing the full damage comes down to Iran allowing inspectors access.
The Washington Post in Sunday reported on intercepted conversations between senior Iranian officials following the attack who said the results were 'less devastating than they had expected' – in information that contradicts Trump's own claims that the site was 'totally obliterated.'
Trump in recent days has also inserted himself into Israeli domestic affairs, calling for charges against Netanyahu in his ongoing corruption trial to be thrown out.
Trump's in a social media post last week condemned the trial as a 'WITCH HUNT,' and vowed that the United States will be the one who 'saves' Netanyahu from serious corruption charges.
The decision by Trump to plunge himself into one of Israel's most heated debates has unnerved some in its political class.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration on Monday approved a new half-billion-dollar arms sale to Israel to resupply its military with bomb guidance kits for precision munitions.
The State Department said the sale is worth $510 million. It includes more than 7,000 guidance kits for two different types of Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or JDAMs.
The deal is relatively small given that the U.S. provides Israel with more than $3 billion annually in military aid. But Israel has relied on JDAMs and other related US weaponry in its war against Hamas in Gaza and its recent strikes against Iran.
'The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability,' the department said in a statement. 'This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives.'
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