Donald Trump has said he hopes to move forward with his Gaza peace plan “very quickly” as he welcomed Benjamin Netanyahu to Florida on Monday.
The pair met at Mr Trump’s residence Mar-a-Lago for a series of crucial talks over the future of the Gaza ceasefire and broader security issues in the Middle East - including to iron out the next phase of Washington’s peace deal for Gaza. It comes after a fragile ceasefire agreement struck last October with Hamas.
Mr Trump said that he and the Israeli prime minister settled three difficult issues on Gaza within five minutes of meeting, and that the reconstruction of Gaza would “begin soon”. He continued to say he hopes to reach phase two of Gaza peace plan “very quickly”.
Mr Trump also said the US was prepared to launch attacks on Iran “quickly” if it tries to rebuild the nuclear programme he struck in June.
He added Israeli president Isaac Herzog had told him that a pardon for Mr Netanyahu was "on its way." He is facing corruption charges that could see him sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
Behind closed doors the pair discussed how to implement the most complex aspects of the 20-point US plan, which lays out an ambitious vision for ending Hamas’ rule of Gaza after two devastating years of war.
If successful, it would see the rebuilding of a demilitarised Gaza under international supervision by a “Board of Peace” chaired by Mr Trump. An interim technocratic Palestinian government would be established to run day-to-day affairs, with thousands of foreign troops deployed as part of an international stabilisation force (ISF).
The first phase of the plan, which involved the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the strip and the release of all of the living and dead hostages captured by Hamas in the October 7 attacks, has largely been completed, with the remains of just one hostage due to be handed back to Israel.
But there is growing frustration on both sides over the lack of progress on advancing the second phase of the plan, while huge challenges remain over key issues such as the disarmament of Hamas and the composition of the ISF.
Mr Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, recently huddled in Florida with officials from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, which have been mediating the ceasefire.
An official close to the talks told the Associated Press before the meeting that two key issues remain before the second phase of the plan can proceed. Israeli officials have been taking a lot of time to vet and approve members of the Palestinian technocratic committee from a list given to them by the mediators, and the IDF is continuing its military strikes, they said.
More than 400 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire came into effect on 3 October despite Mr Trump’s promise to end violence in the strip, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Both Hamas and Israel frequently accuse one another of violations of the agreement.
Last week, senior officials in the Trump administration told Axios that Netanyahu had “taken steps to undermine the fragile ceasefire and stall the peace process”.
Israel’s war in Gaza has led to the death of more than 70,000 Palestinians and the displacement of almost all of the territory’s 2.3 million population. It was triggered by Hamas’ attack on 7 October 2023, when militants stormed across the border and killed 1,200 people and abducted 250 others.
Israeli bombardment and ground operations have transformed neighbourhoods in several Gazan cities into rubble-strewn wastelands, with many Palestinians continuing to live in acute hardship in the region despite the peace agreement.
Broader regional concerns were also likely be high on the agenda in Mar-a-Lago, with growing fears in Washington that Israel could launch new offensives against its enemies in the Middle East in the coming months.
Mr Netanyahu is likely to have pushed for more strikes on Iran following Israel’s 12-day war in June, which saw the US join a bombing campaign to destroy Tehran’s nuclear programme. On Saturday, Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian said that his country was in a “full-scale war” with the US, Europe and Israel, in an indication that tensions remain high.
Lebanon is also likely to have been discussed. Israel’s Channel 13 reported that the Israeli PM was set to present Mr Trump with intelligence to expand operations against militant group Hezbollah, breaking a ceasefire agreed more than a year ago.
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