US President Donald Trump received Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu on Monday evening at the White House, in a climate tense by incessant bombing on Gaza and negotiations around a cease-fire. Officially private, the dinner was finally partially opened to the press, revealing exchanges of a major geopolitical scope.
At the heart of discussions: the future of the Palestinians of Gaza. Trump and Netanyahu reiterated their support for a controversial “voluntary relocation” project from Gazaouis to other countries. A plan largely perceived by observers as an attempt to purify demographic, rejected by the majority of international organizations.
According to a Reuters survey, the United States supports the creation of “humanitarian transit zones”, including outside Gaza, where the Palestinians could be temporarily hosted, “deradicated” and prepared for a possible final departure.
Meanwhile, the Israeli strikes continue. Just on Monday, 61 Palestinians were killed, including five when they were trying to recover food distributed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), supported by Washington.
Netanyahu has excluded any Palestinian state perspective, evoking October 7 as a final break. “I devote my life to preventing this,” he said, confirming his hard line.
In Doha, negotiations continue under the aegis of Qatar. The American emissary Steve Witkoff spoke of a “new momentum” towards a cease-fire, while stressing that the war would continue as long as Israel has not achieved its “security objectives”.
Another highlight of the meeting: Netanyahu gave Trump a letter of recommendation for the Nobel Peace Prize. An image for history – or irony.
