Netanyahu was welcomed to Blair House, the venerable guesthouse adjacent to the White House, on Sunday evening. According to a press release, he was then reminded that it was the 14th time he was staying there – a higher figure than for any other foreign leader since the guesthouse was created in the 19th century.
Intensive days are ahead. On Monday, he will meet Steve Witkoff, President Trump's new Middle East envoy, who has received some credit for the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip last week.
Six weeks
The two men will discuss the next phase of the agreement – a delicate task that has barely begun, and which looks increasingly difficult as Israel and the Palestinian counterpart Hamas have already quarreled several times about the ongoing first phase.
The actual negotiations with the terrorist-stamped Hamas have not yet begun, and time is running out. Phase one is scheduled to last a total of six weeks, which means it will end in early March. Several hawks around Netanyahu would like to see no second phase, but instead, the war will resume.
Representatives of Hamas said on Monday that the Islamic movement is ready for further talks about phase two:
"Hamas has informed the mediators, during ongoing talks and meetings held with the Egyptian mediators last week, that we are ready," an unnamed Hamas source told the AFP news agency.
Agreement on Iran?
President Trump will receive Netanyahu on Tuesday. Ahead of the meeting, the US president has sent mixed signals about how satisfied he is with Israel's policy.
On the one hand, Trump has talked about giving Israel a free hand by sending Gaza's population to other countries, on the other hand, Witkoff has pressured Netanyahu to a ceasefire.
The question is also what they can agree on regarding Lebanon's Hezbollah militia and its powerful benefactor Iran. Previously, they have been in agreement on a very tough line against the regime in Tehran, but now Trump seems more inclined towards a diplomatic settlement than continued war threats.
