Blitz Bureau
ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Washington next week at the invitation of US President Donald Trump, Netanyahu’s office said.
The statement said President Trump has invited Netanyahu to “a meeting at the White House on February 4.” The meeting is expected to focus on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, Israel’s state-owned Kan TV news reported.
Under the agreement, a six-week ceasefire began on January 19 during the first phase. On the 16th day of this ceasefire, negotiations will begin on the next steps aimed at the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave.
Netanyahu is under political pressure from key members of the rightwing coalition government to resume fighting in Gaza after the first phase of the agreement, Xinhua news agency reported. According to Kan, the White House has prepared an incentive package for Netanyahu to push the deal forward.
The package reportedly includes sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which issued an arrest warrant against Netanyahu for “crimes against humanity and war crimes” during the Gaza conflict in late November last year.
