PM Netanyahu (L) and US President Trump
Photo: Reuters
Trump to host Netanyahu at White House next month
In the wake of police recommending his incitement for bribery and the US' denial of their claimed talks on West Bank annexation, PM Netanyahu is set to meet US President Trump next month.
President Donald Trump will host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on March 5, White House spokesman Raj Shah confirmed.
The pair met last month in Davos, Switzerland weeks after the Trump administration rejected international criticism of its decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and its announcement to begin preparations for moving the US embassy there.
PM Netanyahu (L) and US President Trump (Photo: Reuters)
While Netanyahu found Trump to be a fervent supporter of Israel on several different occasions, in a rare moment of public disagreement, the US administration flatly denied on Monday Netanyahu's claim that he was having talks with the Americans about applying Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank—a prospect that would further complicate peace efforts and the two-state solution.
In response, the Prime Minister's Office clarified that Netanyahu "updated the Americans on the (annexation) initiatives being raised in the Knesset, and the Americans expressed their unequivocal position that they are committed to advancing President Trump's peace plan."
The PMO added that the prime minister did not present the United States with any specific annexation proposals, and that in any case the administration in Washington did not express its consent to it.
"The position of Prime Minister Netanyahu is that if the Palestinians persist in their refusal to negotiate for peace, Israel will present its own alternatives," the PMO said.
Word of the visit comes days after Israeli police recommended that Netanyahu be indicted over allegations of bribery in a long-running corruption investigation.
A White House official said news of the recommendations have "no impact on the content of the meeting or on its date."
