Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that he will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House next week, marking him as the first foreign leader to be invited to Trump’s residence since he retook office.
The visit is scheduled for Feb. 4, as announced by Netanyahu’s office on Tuesday. Despite this announcement, Trump has not yet mentioned the visit on Truth Social, the social network he owns.
This meeting comes after more than two weeks since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire brokered by Trump. The future of the ceasefire remains uncertain, as Trump has given conflicting signals about its longevity and has also discussed the possibility of Arab states taking in Palestinians from Gaza.
Trump’s prompt invitation to Netanyahu stands in contrast to his predecessor, Joe Biden, who invited Netanyahu for a White House meeting over six months after Netanyahu’s victory in the November 2022 Israeli election. This delay was indicative of the tensions between Biden and Netanyahu at the time, resulting from policy disagreements.
During Trump’s first term in office from 2017 to 2021, Netanyahu and Trump had a close relationship. Trump made significant moves such as relocating the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, and brokering normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab nations.
Since Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, he has lifted sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers and authorized the delivery of heavy bombs to Israel.
In a video celebrating Trump’s inauguration last week, Netanyahu expressed his belief in elevating the U.S.-Israel alliance to even greater heights through their continued collaboration.