Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been welcomed at Blair House in Washington on Sunday evening ahead of his meeting with US President Donald Trump.
"It is a very important meeting," the prime minister told reporters before takeoff.
"The fact that this would be President Trump’s first meeting with a foreign leader since his inauguration is a testimony to the strength of the Israeli-American alliance. It’s also a testimony to the strength of our personal friendship," he added.
Netanyahu said he would discuss with the president Israel's war against Hamas, the release of all the hostages, and the Iranian terror axis.
The prime minister also said he would discuss normalization with Saudi Arabia. “I will look to broaden the circle of peace and achieve a remarkable era of peace through strength,” Netanyahu said
A spokesperson for Netanyahu, Omer Dostri, told The Jerusalem Post, “We aspire to reach peace, and there’s aspiration on the other side.”
This visit marks Netanyahu’s 14th stay at Blair House, more than any foreign leader since it was built in the 19th century.
Normalization with Saudi Arabia
Dostri agreed that normalization faces more challenges now than it did before October 7 since Saudi Arabia has demanded an end to the war as a prerequisite for any talk on normalization.
“If such a process would have taken place without a war in Gaza, from the Saudis’ perspective, it would have been more comfortable,” Dostri explained to the Post, adding, “But we have not completed our goals in Gaza.”
Were Israel to insist on meeting its war goals in the enclave, this could actually advance normalization, he said. “We must remember: Here in the region, ‘the strongest survive,’ and when countries see Israel annihilating its enemies – it brings normalization closer.”
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