(Andrew Friedman/TPS) Prime Minister Netanyahu announced Tuesday that he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on February 15 in Washington.
The meeting, the first for the leaders since Trump took office on January 20, will cover a range of topics, including trade, Israel-Palestinian relations, Syria, Trump’s campaign promise to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and renewed U.S. sanctions against Iran.
The meeting will take place as both sides attempt to crawl out from under eight years of strained relations between Netanyahu and former President Barack Obama, whom the prime minister viewed as hopelessly naive about the Middle East. Netanyahu leveled furious criticism at Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry over the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and made little secret in recent months that he would welcome the end of Obama’s term in office.
Trump, for his part, has little experience or knowledge of the Middle East, or of traditional American interests in the region. During the campaign he spoke forcefully about enforcing strictly the terms of Obama’s nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) as well as moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Netanyahu and other right-wing leaders in Israel were encouraged by the nomination of David Friedman, Trump’s long-time bankruptcy lawyer and a strong supporter of right-wing causes in Israel, as ambassador.
Netanyahu’s visit, however, could lead to a rash of political challenges for the prime minister as he holds talks for the first time with an American administration that is likely to maintain a “hands-off” policy with regard to Israel. That could create a rock and proverbial hard place for Netanyahu: With the lack of U.S. pressure on issues of settlements, riot-control measures in the event of clashes with Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and other issues that have traditionally triggered tensions with Washington, Netanyahu will be stripped of a long-standing excuse for not pursuing right-wing policies and will be forced to clearly articulate the policies he does support.
