The Prime Minister brought forward his trip to Washington, in light of his ongoing trial and before the Knesset recess, and on Monday he is expected to meet with the American president, who claimed that Netanyahu also wants to end the war in Gaza. Families of hostages are considering a trip to Washington, hoping to meet with Trump. The Prime Minister's concerns, and the issues on the agenda during the crucial visit to the White House
Itamar Eichner, Idan Blumhof, Lihi Gordon, Daniel Adelson, New York, Sharon Kidon|
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Will take off for Washington
On Saturday night or Sunday, for a historic visit after the"12-Day War" with Iran - which opens, as Netanyahu himself defined it,"a great many historic opportunities," and after the Prime Minister
He made the return of the kidnapped a top priority.
In his speech on Sunday. In preparation for the visit, relatives of the kidnapped gathered this morning (Tuesday) in front of the Prime Minister's Office and called for signing an agreement that would return their relatives, even at the cost of ending the war. At the same time, family members of the kidnapped are also considering flights to Washington near Netanyahu's trip.
Meanwhile, sources involved in talks on a hostage deal say that some progress has been made. According to them, there is now motivation on both Israel and Hamas' part to move forward with closer talks - even without clear guarantees of an end to the war. The gaps between the parties have not yet been closed, but they have been narrowed, and the feeling is that a"window of opportunity" has opened that Israel is interested in exploiting - especially ahead of Netanyahu's trip to Washington and the optimism that Trump is conveying about the possibility of a deal and a ceasefire as early as next week.
However, an Israeli source said that so far no agreement has been reached on the departure of an Israeli delegation to Cairo or Doha."When the conditions were ripe, preparations were made very quickly for the delegation to leave," he said. He also noted:"It has not yet been agreed whether the prime minister will include families of the kidnapped on his trip to Washington."
In recent days, Trump has been expressing optimism about an imminent deal."I will be very firm with Netanyahu about ending the war in Gaza. But he wants it too," the American president said today."I think we will have a deal next week."
Reasons for bringing the trip forward - and concerns
On the way to a press conference with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, President Trump referred to the meeting with Netanyahu this afternoon:"It's going to be a very quick celebration. We had a great strike (on Iran). It was annihilation. Yes, now it turns out it really was annihilation. Everything blew up. It was total and utter annihilation. And we need to celebrate these heroes." He later added: "We're bringing them (the Israelis) to Florida or to the White House. I gave them the choice. I think they'll probably choose the White House. Sorry, Ron."
The Prime Minister's visit was actually brought forward by several weeks at his request. There are several possible reasons why it was important for Netanyahu to bring forward the trip, especially when not all the political issues on the agenda are"baked" and there seem to be more question marks. The reason may lie in his trial - that
The hearings were canceled this week.
- This is despite Netanyahu asking to postpone the discussions for next week as well. It is clear that a visit to Washington will result in the cancellation of the discussions for another week.
4 Viewing the gallery
Netanyahu may be "comfortable" to accept a dictate from Trump on Gaza (Photo: Jack GUEZ / AFP, Reuters/REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein, Haim Tzach L'am)
White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said on several occasions that Netanyahu was the one who expressed interest in a meeting at the White House. In this respect, Netanyahu will not be able to tell the court that Trump invited him and set the schedules. This may be related to Netanyahu's desire to buy up valuable time to reach the summer recess in the Knesset, which begins on July 27 and ends on October 19, time that will allow Netanyahu to promote various issues and, above all, prepare for the elections. Netanyahu wants to benefit from his achievements - primarily the war with Iran. However, he would also like to reach the elections with a hostage deal, which would constitute two huge achievements for him.
At the same time, the Knesset recess will neutralize the ability of the Haredim to overthrow his government over the draft exemption law, and will also neutralize the ability of ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich to resign over a hostage deal or the end of the war – if Trump forces it on Netanyahu. In general, it seems that Netanyahu has already begun his election campaign with
The falafel dish in the arena in Rishon LeZion
and retrieval
Cash out of pocket
- A status that is only familiar to us during election periods.
This afternoon, Trump confirmed that he will talk to Netanyahu about Gaza and Iran, and said that he hopes that next week"there will be a ceasefire." The prime minister also arrives at the White House with many concerns: he understands that the president is unpredictable, and also that Trump is tired of the war in Gaza and wants to see it end. In their recent conversations, Trump explicitly told Netanyahu that they need to start striving to end the war, and of course there is the matter of"the day after" in Gaza. The Americans are preparing plans for Arab involvement in running the Strip after the war, but for that, they need to reach the final stage, and that cannot be done without a hostage deal.
Netanyahu's close confidant, Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, will hold a series of meetings in Washington today to try to reach maximum coordination with Trump's people on the"day after" issue, and to prepare Netanyahu's visit, which is expected to meet with the president at the White House on Monday. He will meet, among others, with Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser.
The "eagerness" for a deal, the willingness to dictate from Trump
Judging by what Netanyahu said at the small cabinet meeting, it seems that he is now eager to reach a hostage deal. He noted that a deal should be forcibly pursued, and also asked that the Americans use"hammers," as he defined it, on Qatar. At the same time, Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri said that the most important thing now is a hostage deal, and that the achievements made with Iran must not be eroded.
Netanyahu's eagerness also comes in the face of the exhaustion of the operation.
Gideon's Chariots
". The understanding in Israel is that if the IDF occupies the Strip, it will endanger the lives of the hostages, and therefore the timing of the deal suits Netanyahu. The problem is that Hamas will not settle for anything less than ending the war, while Netanyahu does not seem to be backing down from his goal of collapsing Hamas. This is where Trump comes into the picture, and how determined he will be to dictate what will happen. It is possible that now it will be convenient for Netanyahu to accept dictation - especially after the achievement against Iran. It is possible that the Americans will present Netanyahu with a new deal, perhaps a"limited Witkoff outline" - a deal that will first establish a ceasefire, resume the flow of humanitarian aid, and from there it will be easier to move towards ending the war and returning all the hostages.
The second issue on the agenda is the expansion
Abraham Accords
It is clear to everyone that without an end to the war in Gaza, it is impossible to get going. The Saudis will not jump on the bandwagon with anything less than that, and with anything less than a formula that will bring Netanyahu into the event of a future Palestinian state, even if such and such conditions are set. Therefore, it is possible that the Americans will seek faster achievements - in the form of
Security agreement with Syria
. Talks are already underway between Israel and Syria and simultaneously with Washington. Netanyahu's visit may announce a breakthrough on the road to an agreement, but it is not about normalization or a peace agreement, although it is an important step on the road there. For Trump, it will be another achievement in the Middle East.
One of the issues on the agenda is a security agreement with al-Julani. IDF force in Syria (Photo: IDF Spokesperson)
A third and no less important issue is coordination between Israel and the US regarding Iran. Israel would like to see a new agreement between Washington and Tehran. Witkoff was appointed to talk to the Iranians, who, if they had signed the agreement he offered them, would have avoided the combined attack and the damage to the nuclear facilities. Now, perhaps they have less to lose. On the other hand, the Americans make it clear that if they revive the nuclear program, the US will not hesitate to attack again. Israel wants to see a diplomatic agreement because the current situation in which Iran is a"wounded animal seeking revenge" is not good for it. It seems that Iran is currently recalculating and has not yet made decisions on where to turn, but it is important for Israel to coordinate with the US the red lines for military intervention against Iran.
It is also expected that Trump will continue the line he started in his posts on his social media, calling for the cancellation of Netanyahu's trial, during his meeting with Netanyahu. After two posts, it is likely that we will also hear a clear statement from Trump in his voice with Netanyahu by his side. Sources in Israel said that Netanyahu wants to go to Washington as soon as possible, as he thinks there is a"rare opportunity" for a significant achievement: first and foremost, the hostage deal, but not only that.
"They said without shame - they are going for a partial deal"
This morning, dozens of people, including families of abductees, gathered in front of the Prime Minister's Office calling for the signing of a comprehensive agreement for the return of all abductees - even at the cost of ending the war. The demonstration took place while the government was gathering in the office for its weekly meeting. Among the participants were relatives of the abductees Bar Kuperstein, Nimrod Cohen, Itay Chen and Matan Agranst. The father of Uri Danino, who was murdered in the tunnel along with five other abductees, also came to express support for the families.
"What about the kidnapped?" The families in Jerusalem (Photo: Amit Shaavi)
(Photo: Amit Shaavi)
Nimrod Cohen's father, Yehuda, said that yesterday they met with the Prime Minister's military secretary, and asked for answers:"We had a conversation with the Prime Minister's military secretary, and when he was asked whether we were going for a full or partial deal, he shamelessly said 'partially.' And during the conversation, he didn't forget to say Netanyahu's slogans, such as 'We need to make sure that October 7th doesn't come back,' and 'We need to defeat Hamas.' So we have a military secretary who is Netanyahu's petty politician."
The families repeatedly emphasize the ceasefire with Iran, and the desire to leverage it to end the fighting in Gaza and return the kidnapped. Anat Agnest, Matan's mother, said:"We know that these are critical days and that a huge window of opportunity has opened after the great success in Iran. It can be leveraged to end the war in Gaza, from its strength, and return everyone to Israel." Rabbi Elhanan Danino, who lost his son Uri, came to express support:"I really hope that the prime minister will not take his time like he did with Iran, where it took him 17 years. Today we are already 634 days - which is too much for the kidnapped and their families, especially after the Chief of Staff's words."
Netanyahu referred to his expected trip at the start of the cabinet meeting: "I am expected to leave next week for meetings in the US with President Trump, Vice President Vance, Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hasegawa, with the President's Representative for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and with the Minister of Commerce."
Meanwhile, families of the kidnapped are checking flight reservations to Washington near the date of Netanyahu's trip. Some family members had considered it last week in the hope of meeting President Trump, even before it was known when Netanyahu would leave for the US.
The spaceman's father, Ruby Chen, commented on the possibility of the trip:"If there is a flight, I will travel too, I am also an American citizen. The main problem is that the families feel the need to travel to the US, because we feel it is impossible to get a response from the Israeli government, so we are trying the US. Dermer is not sitting with the families. When Witkoff arrived, he sat with the families and did not get up until he answered the last question. If the Prime Minister wants it - there will be a deal."
This morning, Ruth Strom, the mother of captivity survivor Yair Horn and his kidnapped brother Eitan, was interviewed by Ynet. She was asked if she"has any hopes" for Netanyahu's visit to Washington, and she replied:"I don't know. It's impossible to continue like this, it's unbearable and delusional that the kidnapped still have to suffer in the tunnels."
She continued and noted: "I have already said many times that I need to thank President Trump, that only thanks to him Yair is here with us. I am sure that he is doing and will do everything to make this happen, and that Eitan and all the kidnapped will be here." Ruthie also addressed the Prime Minister: "I say to Netanyahu - do the right thing, fix what you didn't do, bring everyone home." She also noted that she has no information about her son who is in captivity: "I have no information. I worry, but on the other hand I am hopeful - he is strong and I know that he will come back to us alive."
