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Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu meets with Trump, US media: The two met face to face for the first time in nearly four years

Cailianshe News, July 27 (Editor: Niu Zhanlin)Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Florida on Friday and met with former US President Donald Trump, who stressed that he and Netanyahu have always had a very good relationship, while the Israeli leader said he hopes for progress in the Gaza ceasefire talks.

At the entrance of Mar-a-Lago, a resort in Florida, Trump greeted Netanyahu and his wife Sarah and said, "It's my honor, please come in!" Trump then shook hands with Netanyahu and gave a thumbs-up to the camera.

Netanyahu was seen going to Mar-a-Lago hoping to mend fences with the former and potential re-elected president and win Republican support for his plans to advance the war on Hamas. In 2020, Trump flew into a rage after Netanyahu congratulated Biden on his election victory.

The day before, Netanyahu held a bilateral meeting with Vice President Harris at the White House. At the press conference after the meeting, Harris expressed support for Israel's right to self-defense, while emphasizing that the suffering of civilians in Gaza cannot be ignored, and hoped that the two sides would reach a ceasefire agreement as soon as possible and release all detained persons.

Trump criticized Harris, saying, "I thought her comments were disrespectful."

Netanyahu said he hoped his trip to the United States would lead to a quicker ceasefire. "I hope so. But I think time will tell." He added that he believed efforts to broker a ceasefire had made progress due to Israeli military pressure and said he would send a team to Rome for negotiations.

Trump also rejected suggestions that his relationship with Netanyahu was strained, saying: "We have a very good relationship." Trump noted changes in U.S. policy during his presidency, including moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and withdrawing the U.S. from the nuclear deal with Iran.

Trump recently criticized Netanyahu, saying Israel's security failures enabled Hamas to launch an attack on Israel on October 7, triggering Israel's offensive on Gaza.

He also previously warned that Israel's war in Gaza was losing the support of the international community and reiterated that Israel should quickly end the conflict.

Polls show Harris and Trump in a close race for the presidential election, prompting world leaders such as Netanyahu, who has traditionally preferred to deal with Trump's Republicans rather than Biden's Democrats, to seek a balance in dealing with the United States.

In a speech to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, Netanyahu reiterated that Israel will not stop fighting until it achieves total victory over Hamas, saying the United States and Israel must stand together.

(Niu Zhanlin, Cailianshe)