Netanyahu hopes to meet President Trump in February as one of the first foreign leaders to visit White House

UPDATE 8:38 PM Israel time: The Prime Minister's Office issued a statement that U.S. President Donald Trump has invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a meeting in the White House next week on February 4, 2025.

The Israeli news site Walla reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, possibly as early as next week. 

Netanyahu is hoping to be the first foreign leader invited to meet with Trump in the White House, in a clear reversal of the situation under former-President Joe Biden, who declined to invite Netanyahu to the White House after Netanyahu’s coalition government successfully won the elections in 2022. 

Due to political differences, Biden delayed inviting Netanyahu for an official visit until just weeks before the start of the Oct. 7, 2023, Gaza War. 

While Biden did meet briefly with Netanyahu on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September of 2023, he delayed offering an invitation to the White House in an attempt to pressure Netanyahu to abandon the coalition government’s judicial reforms. 

After the outbreak of the war, that invitation to the White House was delayed again, with Netanyahu not making a visit to the White House until July 2024. That visit was overshadowed by the announcement, mere hours before Netanyahu’s arrival, that Biden was withdrawing from the presidential race. 

While Netanyahu and Trump have had some disagreements, with Trump being more outspoken in his criticism of Netanyahu after leaving office, the two have also maintained a mutual respect. Trump maintained a strong pro-Israel stance during the 2024 presidential election campaign, which seemed to be appreciated by Israelis and Netanyahu’s coalition partners. 

With Trump back in the White House, Netanyahu hopes to return to the close relationship he had with Trump during Trump’s previous term, a relationship which saw the U.S. President officially move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, give official recognition to Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and sign the Abraham Accords. 

According to the Walla report, Trump is willing to offer Netanyahu one of the first official state visits to the White House as a gesture of the close relationship between the two countries, and a show of support to Israel during the Gaza and Lebanon ceasefires. 

Shortly after the story broke on Walla, an Israeli official denied the report that Netanyahu had received an official invitation to the White House, but confirmed that a meeting is being discussed. 

Reportedly, Netanyahu’s health condition, after his recent prostate removal surgery, is also a concern affecting the trip. However, with the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire close to finishing, and with a short extension being given to the IDF to fully withdraw from Lebanon, a meeting between the two leaders is seen as a priority for both governments. 

Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff is expected in Israel in the coming days to observe the situation in Gaza and discuss a long-term solution for Gaza. 

President Trump recently suggested a temporary or permanent relocation of some of Gaza’s population, a controversial idea which is popular among many of the right-wing members of Netanyahu’s coalition. On Monday, Trump repeated this suggestion, despite pushback from Arab leaders. 

The future of Gaza is likely to be a topic of discussion whenever the two leaders meet in person.