.png)
2 hours ago
3
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
News Analysis
Even aside from his stunning Gaza proposal, President Trump gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel nearly everything he wanted, signaling a renewal of their close alliance.
By Peter Baker
Peter Baker is covering his sixth presidency and has also been a correspondent in Jerusalem.
Feb. 5, 2025, 4:40 p.m. ET
As he sat next to President Trump on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel had a grin on his face that he rarely had during the last administration. And why not? He got most everything he came to Washington for.
Put aside the president’s far-fetched notion of a U.S. takeover of Gaza. Mr. Trump made clear that he had no intention of pressing Mr. Netanyahu as President Joseph R. Biden Jr. did at times since the Israeli leader returned to power in 2022.
In fact, Mr. Netanyahu’s mere presence in the White House was a sign of how much has changed. Mr. Biden did not host the prime minister at the executive mansion until last July, more than 18 months into Mr. Netanyahu’s latest term and six months before the end of his own. By contrast, Mr. Trump made Mr. Netanyahu the first foreign leader he has invited since his own return to power a little over two weeks ago.
During their meetings, Mr. Trump indicated that he would not try to stop Israel from continuing to wage war against Hamas even at the expense of the temporary cease-fire now in effect. Just before Mr. Netanyahu’s arrival at the White House on Tuesday, Mr. Trump signed an order reinstating “maximum pressure” on Iran and later, with the Israeli leader at his side, vowed again to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Mr. Trump also recommitted to brokering a diplomatic rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a potentially legacy-making priority for Mr. Netanyahu, while dropping any support for a Palestinian state, something the prime minister has rejected despite pressure from the Saudis and others. He has also canceled sanctions imposed by Mr. Biden on violent West Bank settlers and is poised to release weapons held up by the former president.
“All of the hoopla on the U.S. taking over Gaza caused us to miss the real story from the meeting,” said Aaron David Miller, a longtime Middle East peace negotiator now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “Bibi leaves the White House among the happiest humans on the planet. If there ever was a demonstration of no daylight between Israel and the U.S., this was it.”
