 "President Donald Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the West Wing of the White House in Washington. AP File")
US President Donald Trump on Monday invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the White House “in the near future,” Times of Israel quoted Netanyahu’s office as saying on Monday following a phone call between the two leaders.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening, spoke with US President Donald Trump,” Times of Israel quoted Netanyahu’s office as saying in a statement.
“Trump has invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to a meeting at the White House in the near future,” the statement added.
Netanyahu’s office said the two leaders stressed the importance and obligation of disarming Hamas and demilitarising the Gaza Strip, and discussed expanding the peace agreements.
The upcoming visit would mark Netanyahu’s fifth trip to Washington since Trump returned to the presidency in January.
The conversation came shortly after Trump publicly warned Israel against destabilising Syria and its new leadership, following reports of clashes between IDF forces and gunmen in southern Syria.
“It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous State,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The call also followed Netanyahu’s formal request for a presidential pardon from Isaac Herzog in his ongoing corruption trial — a move Trump has repeatedly endorsed, including during a public appeal in the Knesset in October and in a subsequent letter.
With inputs from agencies