Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday visited former US President Donald Trump at his Florida resort to meet him, in a move that could ease tensions between the two leaders who forged a close alliance during Trump’s tenure in the White House.
Netanyahu met Trump, the Republican candidate in the 2024 US presidential race, a day after he met with Democratic President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running against Trump in the November 5 US election.
The long-time Israeli leader rescheduled his US travel schedule to meet Trump. He arrived in Palm Beach early Friday morning.
Opinion polls show Harris and Trump in a tight race for the White House, prompting world leaders like Netanyahu, who are traditionally more aligned with Trump’s Republicans than Biden’s Democrats, to seek a balance in their dealings with the United States.
Nine months after the Israeli offensive in Gaza, Harris asked Netanyahu about the suffering of Palestinians in the region in a conversation that hinted at what changes she might make to US policy if she becomes president.
“I have expressed my deep concern about the terrible humanitarian situation there,” Harris said after the meeting on Thursday. “I will not be silent.”
“Israel has a right to defend itself. And how it does so is important,” he said.
Israeli officials criticized Harris’ statement that it was time to end the war.
In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Trump called for a quick end to the war and the return of Hamas hostages held in Gaza. He said Israel must better manage its “public relations.”
“I want him (Netanyahu) to get his job done as quickly as possible,” Trump said. “He’s getting ruined by this propaganda.”
Trump also criticised those who protested Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress on Wednesday.
Dozens of Democrats boycotted the speech, expressing dismay at the deaths of thousands of civilians and the displacement of most of the 2.3 million people in Gaza.
Netanyahu, Trump try to ease tensions
The meeting between Trump and Netanyahu indicated that both were making efforts to reduce tensions.
The Israeli leader angered Trump when he congratulated Biden for his victory over Trump in the 2020 election. Trump has falsely claimed the election was stolen from him through voter fraud.
Trump recently criticised Netanyahu for Israeli security failures during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, which triggered the Israeli offensive into Gaza.
According to Israeli figures, Hamas and its allies killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. About 120 hostages are still being held, although Israel believes one in three have died.
Addressing Congress on Wednesday, Netanyahu defended Israel’s military and rejected criticism of the campaign that has devastated Gaza and killed more than 39,000 people, according to health officials in the Hamas-ruled territory.
Israeli officials estimate that about 14,000 fighters from Hamas and other groups, including Islamic Jihad, have been killed or captured, compared with a strength of more than 25,000 at the start of the war.
In Wednesday’s speech, Netanyahu praised Biden’s support for Israel.
But amid cheers from Republicans, he spoke up about Trump’s pro-Israel record as president. He praised Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a longtime favorite target of conservatives, sparking anger among Palestinians.
He also cited the Abraham Accords, landmark US-brokered agreements signed during Trump’s White House tenure that led to the normalisation of bilateral relations between Israel and Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw encouraged peaceful protests, but said he did not expect large-scale demonstrations like those during Netanyahu’s speech in Washington, when thousands of activists marched to protest the war in Gaza — vandalizing some sites and clashing with police.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
