JERUSALEM — It is possible to strengthen security and expand peace, Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday before departing for
Washington, where he will negotiate the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire
deal.
"I believe that we can strengthen security, broaden the
circle of peace, and achieve a remarkable era of peace through strength,"
he said before boarding his flight.
Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with US President Donald
Trump at the White House on Tuesday to discuss issues of Gaza, Israeli
hostages, the Middle East, and the entire world, his office said in a statement
as reported by Xinhua news agency.
Netanyahu said his meetings in the US capital "will
deal with important, critical issues facing Israel and the region -- victory
over Hamas, achieving the release of all our hostages, and dealing with the
Iranian terror axis in all its components, an axis that threatens the peace of
Israel, the Middle East, and the entire world".
Speaking before boarding the plane, he said the fact that he
is the first foreign leader to meet Trump in the White House since the latter's
inauguration is "a testimony to the strength of the Israeli-American
alliance. It's also a testimony to the strength of our personal friendship".
"The decisions we've made in the war have already
changed the face of the Middle East," Netanyahu declared alongside the
state's official plane, Wing of Zion, which took him to Washington.
"Our decisions and the courage of our soldiers have
redrawn the map. But I believe that working closely with President Trump, we
can redraw it even further, and for the better."
Netanyahu was apparently referring to ties with Saudi
Arabia.
Israel is pushing for the establishment of a negotiating
team to hold talks on official relations with the Gulf state, the Kan public
broadcaster reported on Saturday, adding that the Trump administration wants to
achieve peace between Jerusalem and Riyadh as part of the US President's vision
for a "Golden age of peace in the Middle East".
The move would expand on the Abraham Accords, through which
Israel established relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and
Morocco during Trump's first term in office. Saudi Arabia did not join the 2020
accords and has never recognised Israel.
Normalisation with Saudi Arabia has been all but shelved due
to the war in Gaza as well as Riyadh's demands that Israel establishes a
diplomatic horizon for a future Palestinian state.
The Israeli PM will also meet with Steve Witkoff, Trump's
special envoy to the Middle East, to coordinate positions on the next phase of
the ceasefire.
Witkoff will then talk with officials from Qatar and Egypt,
who had mediated the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Israel and Hamas agreed on a three-phase ceasefire deal in
January, under which Hamas has so far released 18 hostages and Israel has freed
hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
According to Israeli figures, more than 70 hostages are
still being held in Gaza.
