Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on his way to the White House, one day after President Donald Trump suggested that a deal in the Middle East could be imminent.
“We have a real chance for GREATNESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST,” Trump posted Sunday morning on Truth Social, his social network. “ALL ARE ON BOARD FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL, FIRST TIME EVER. WE WILL GET IT DONE!!!”
Trump did not elaborate on what he meant. But the message came as details of the White House’s proposed Israel-Hamas peace deal leaked over the weekend, with 21 points including the swift release of all living and dead Israeli hostages, concessions for both sides and plans for rebuilding Gaza and its governance.
Trump is eager for Netanyahu’s visit to end with the Israeli leader committing to a deal. But both Netanyahu and Vice President J.D. Vance suggested later on Sunday that an agreement was not as close as Trump had signaled. Vance told reporters that talks were at the “one-yard line” but with significant details remaining to negotiate.
Netanyahu, who is widely understood to have prevented previous ceasefire deals from being completed, also told reporters that there was significant ground yet to close. He canceled public appearances on Sunday to prepare for the White House meeting — a move that his critics said suggested that he was trying to strategize about how to thwart this one, too.
Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, reported that among the people Netanyahu met with on Sunday were Jared Kushner, his son-in-law who has previously proposed Israeli-Palestinian peace deals, and Steve Witkoff, his Middle East envoy. Both Kushner and Witkoff’s son Alex have significant relationships and business interests in the Middle East, Alex Witkoff in Qatar and Kushner largely in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s leaders have signaled openness to normalizing relations with Israel — after the war in Gaza ends.
The Trump plan circulating would achieve the full return of all hostages, one of Netanyahu’s stated goals in Gaza. But he has also sought “total victory” over Hamas — and while the White House terms would result in a demilitarized Hamas, it would also allow the group’s leaders to leave Gaza safely and require Israel to commit not to striking them in Qatar, where Israel recently targeted Hamas’ top brass as they convened to discuss a ceasefire proposal.
Trump’s plan also envisions a governance role for the Palestinian Authority and calls for a “credible pathway to Palestinian statehood” — two moves that Netanyahu and his far-right allies staunchly oppose. One of those allies, Bezalel Smotrich, published a list of six “red lines” on Monday that would cause him to oppose a deal, including several that conflict with the Trump outline.
Hostage families — whose unsuccessfully sought to meet with Netanyahu in New York — are urging Netanyahu to accept Trump’s proposal, as are a wide array of Israeli opposition leaders. Yair Lapid, the leader of the opposition, said he could guarantee the deal’s passage in the Israeli parliament.
“Today I updated the American government that Netanyahu has a safety net from me for a hostage deal and ending the war,” Lapid tweeted. “It has a majority in the Knesset and a majority in the country. There’s no need to get excited about the empty threats from [Itamar] Ben Gvir and Smotrich.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
