Former U.S. President and 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump warmly welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Friday, July 26th. It marked the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders in nearly four years, as part of Netanyahu’s week-long visit to the United States.
With a beaming smile, Trump awaited Netanyahu and his wife Sara on the stone steps outside his private club and residence in Palm Beach, Florida. He warmly shook hands with the Israeli leader, expressing, “Our relationship has always been very good.” When asked if this trip had repaired their relationship, Trump responded, “It has never been bad.”
During the meeting on Friday, Netanyahu praised Trump for his significant contributions to regional agreements, thanking him for “everything he has done for Israel.” Netanyahu cited U.S. support actions during Trump’s tenure, such as formally recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights captured from Syria in the 1967 war, adopting a tougher stance on Iran, and declaring Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The last meeting between Netanyahu and Trump took place at the White House signing ceremony in September 2020, a landmark diplomatic achievement in their political careers. Under Trump’s mediation, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed to establish normal diplomatic relations with Israel.
For Israel, this represented the first formal recognition by Arab states, a crucial step towards easing tensions and expanding economic ties with neighboring Arab countries.
Throughout Trump’s presidency, U.S. support for Israel far exceeded that of his predecessors. However, cracks emerged in the relationship after Netanyahu was among the first world leaders to congratulate Joe Biden on his victory in the 2020 presidential election.
Now, for Netanyahu, with the possibility of Trump returning to the presidency, repairing ties with him becomes imperative, as the U.S. is a crucial supplier of weapons and a protector of Israel.
In a large-scale attack by Hamas on the Israeli border in October last year, Trump vowed at a Republican Jewish Coalition annual meeting to defend their friends and allies in Israel in unprecedented ways.
During Friday’s meeting, Netanyahu presented Trump with a framed photo of a child held hostage by Hamas militants since the start of the conflict. Trump assured him, “We will take care of it.”
Trump’s campaign team stated that during the meeting on Friday, Trump pledged that if elected president in November, he would “make every effort to achieve peace in the Middle East” and combat anti-Semitism on American college campuses.
On the same day, Netanyahu shared a photo of his meeting with Trump on the social media platform X.
This was Netanyahu’s first visit to the U.S. since the Israel-Hamas conflict began. Amid the ongoing Gaza war spanning over nine months, Netanyahu’s trip aimed to garner more support from both parties in the U.S.
In his speech at a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, Netanyahu vowed to continue combating Palestinian militants and urged bipartisan support from the U.S. in Israel’s fight against enemies in the Middle East.
On Thursday, Netanyahu separately met with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington. Both urged the Israeli leader to quickly reach a ceasefire and hostage release agreement.
On Friday, Netanyahu expressed cautious optimism regarding progress in the Gaza ceasefire agreement. He stated his hope for successful negotiations mediated by the U.S. for a ceasefire and the release of hostages.
When asked if this U.S. trip had made progress, Netanyahu commented, “I hope so.” Despite his government’s pledge to eliminate Hamas terrorists without negotiating, Netanyahu stated on Friday that he “certainly sought to reach an agreement. We are working on it.”
(Reference: Associated Press)