Former President Donald Trump plans to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., on Friday, the Republican presidential candidate said on Tuesday.
“Looking forward to welcoming Bibi Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago,” Trump stated. “During my first term, we had peace and stability in the region, even signing the historic Abraham Accords, and we will have it again.”
“Just as I have said in discussions with President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and other world leaders in recent weeks, my peace through strength agenda will demonstrate to the world that these horrible, deadly wars and violent conflicts must end,” Trump stated.
He added that “millions are dying and Kamala Harris is in no way capable of stopping it.” (The U.S. vice president has said she secured sufficient votes to be nominated as the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential candidate.)
“You have to finish up your war. To finish it up. You gotta get it done,” Trump told Israel Hayom in March. “I am sure you will do that, and we gotta get to peace, we can’t have this going on.”
Matt Brooks, the CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition, told JNS last week that he interprets Trump’s call to finish the war as a “blank check” for the Israel Defense Forces.
Netanyahu arrived in Washington on Monday, seeking to solidify bipartisan support following U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 election and amid ongoing conflicts on the Jewish state’s borders.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress during which he plans to present a “new way” of dealing with the threat that Iran presents and highlight Jerusalem’s efforts to achieve victory over Hamas, said an Israeli official familiar with the plans.
Netanyahu’s office said on Tuesday that Biden invited him to the White House on Thursday afternoon, but the White House has not yet confirmed that meeting.
As part of his visit, Netanyahu is also scheduled to meet with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden has endorsed for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination.
