Israeli PM meets Trump at his estate in Florida
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has visited former United States President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida for talks as Trump dismissed any suggestion of tensions between the pair.
The meeting capped a weeklong US visit by Netanyahu that has been met with widespread protests, boycotts from US lawmakers and warnings from rights groups about Israel’s war on Gaza.
Trump greeted Netanyahu and his wife Sara and criticised Harris, who had voiced concern in public comments after meeting the Israeli leader about the toll on Palestinian civilians from Israel’s assault on the besieged territory.
“I think her remarks were disrespectful,” Trump said.
Netanyahu said Israel would be dispatching a negotiating team to discuss a proposal for a Gaza ceasefire in Rome “probably at the beginning of the week”, according to pool reporters.
He said he thought there had been movement in efforts to forge a ceasefire because of Israeli military pressure.
Trump dismissed any suggestion of tensions with Netanyahu, saying the pair had “always had a very good relationship”.
Netanyahu’s visit followed an address to a joint session of the US Congress, a White House meeting with Biden and a separate meeting with Harris.
Long seen as adept at navigating shifting US political winds, Netanyahu’s final US stop on the trip has widely been viewed as an effort to mend ties with Trump before the November 5 election.
Trump, whose term as president stretched from January 2017 to January 2021, took a permissive and transactional approach to US-Israel ties that empowered Netanyahu’s government while largely sidelining Palestinian interests.
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