WASHINGTON: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday at his resort in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said on Tuesday.
“Looking forward to welcoming Bibi Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida,” the former U.S. president said in a post on Truth Social, using Netanyahu’s nickname.
The meeting will be their first since the end of Trump’s presidency, during which the two forged close ties, and comes at a time of strains also between Netanyahu and Democratic
President Joe Biden over Israel’s war against Hamas militants in Gaza.
( @realDonaldTrump – Truth Social Post )
( Donald J. Trump – Jul 23, 2024, 1:39 PM ET )Looking forward to welcoming Bibi Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Thursday. During my first term, we had Peace and Stability in the Region, even signing the historic… pic.twitter.com/e0eHdeGfXS
— Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸 TRUTH POSTS (@TruthTrumpPosts) July 23, 2024
The Israeli leader angered Trump when he congratulated Biden on his victory over Trump in the 2020 election. Trump has falsely claimed the election was stolen from him by voter fraud.
Netanyahu had requested the in-person meeting with Trump during his visit this week to Washington, Politico said on Monday.
In a speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, Netanyahu will seek the renewed support of Congress for Israel’s military operations in the Palestinian enclave. This week he will also meet both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who on Sunday entered the 2024 presidential race after Biden pulled out.
The Israeli leader appears to be hedging his bets about the November U.S. election. Polls show the race is tight. Most analysts believe a second Trump administration would give
Netanyahu a freer hand to battle Hamas.
Netanyahu and Trump were mostly in sync ideologically and on policy during Trump’s 2017-2021 term. The U.S. moved its embassy then from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a long-held conservative goal that delighted Israelis and infuriated Palestinians.
Trump has criticized Netanyahu for the security failures around the deadly October 7 Hamas cross-border attack on Israel and has said Israel must quickly secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas and finish the war in Gaza.
In his social media post, Trump praised Netanyahu’s role in the Abraham Accords, landmark U.S.-brokered agreements signed during the Trump years that normalized bilateral relations
between Israel and both Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
“During my first term, we had Peace and Stability in the Region, even signing the historic Abraham Accords – And we will have it again,” Trump said in his Truth Social post.
He said Harris, as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, was “in no way capable of stopping” world conflicts.
(REUTERS)
