White House Meeting Between Trump and Netanyahu Scheduled to be Behind Closed Doors

TIME

One thing is certain about the reception awaiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington today—it will be far more favorable than the one he encountered at Kibbutz Nir Oz.  Roughly a quarter of the small community of Nir Oz's residents were murdered or abducted to Gaza on Oct. 7th. Among those taken alive by Hamas terrorists, many were murdered in captivity while Netanyahu repeatedly blocked ceasefire attempts. Many families of hostages, realizing that Netanyahu was prolonging the war for his political survival, publicly denounced the Israeli Prime Minister and appealed to President Donald Trump for help.

Transcript

00:00Tonight, President Trump will host the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, for dinner,

00:05where they will discuss the positive developments taking place in the Middle East region.

00:09Just about the visit of Prime Minister Netanyahu today, I was just wondering why that is not open to the press.

00:16Previous visits by him, we've had Oval Office press conferences.

00:20Does that reflect somehow the kind of sensitivity of this particular visit?

00:23No, they're having a private dinner.

00:25There are many important matters that are obviously ongoing in the region, as you know.

00:30The utmost priority for the President right now in the Middle East is to end the war in Gaza and to return all of the hostages.

00:37Also, as you know, there was a ceasefire proposal that Israel supports that was sent to Hamas,

00:42and we hope that they will agree to this proposal.

00:44We want to see all of the hostages released.

00:47That's on the top of the President's mind, so that will be discussed,

00:50as well as the many other positive developments we've seen in the Middle East.

00:53Look, right now the President is focused on today and to get Hamas to agree to this ceasefire.

01:00I don't want to comment on the details of the arrangement out of respect for these negotiations,

01:04but an agreeable and appropriate ceasefire proposal has been sent to Hamas.

01:09And I can also tell you Special Envoy Whitcoff intends to travel to Doha later this week,

01:13where he will continue to engage in these discussions.

01:15And the Qataris and the Egyptians have been incredibly helpful partners in mediating these negotiations

01:21and discussions to bring peace to this region and end this conflict once and for all.

01:26Two questions on Israel.

01:27You suggested that Hamas is the impediment currently to a ceasefire.

01:32So if not a ceasefire deal, then what does the President hope to achieve with tonight's dinner with the Prime Minister?

01:38Again, you guys are getting around to a lot of hypotheticals.

01:41I don't want to get ahead of the President, but there are many other issues to discuss

01:46with Prime Minister Netanyahu tonight related to the region and just the entire world.

01:50So this will be a dinner to talk about Operation Midnight Hammer,

01:53which was incredibly successful to talk about peace in Gaza and ending that conflict,

01:57as well as many other topics of discussion in relation to Israel and the United States.

02:03But as for the takeover of Gaza, I don't believe the President ever said that.

02:06I think he discussed a rebuilding of Gaza once this war is over.

02:10This has become an uninhabitable place for human beings, and the President has a big heart.

02:15He wants this to be a prosperous, safe part of the region where people and families can thrive,

02:21and there will be a need for a real rebuilding effort when the time comes.

02:26But right now, we need to end this war, and we need to bring all of the hostages home.

02:30The President is adamant about that.

02:31The Press, will the President remain into the war tonight?

02:32Look, again, I will let the President speak for himself later if he decides to comment on the details of the agreement.

02:37But out of respect for the discussions, I won't do that from the podium.

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