Trump, Netanyahu to discuss next phase in Gaza

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to push for progress in the stalled ceasefire in Gaza when he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday for talks that will include Israel’s concerns over Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran.



Netanyahu said this month that Trump had invited him for talks, as Washington pushes to establish transitional governance and an international security force for the Palestinian enclave.



Trump has said he could meet with the Israeli leader soon, but the White House has not confirmed details.



Netanyahu, who is expected to visit Trump's Mar-a-Lago beach club, said on December 22 that discussions were expected to cover the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, as well as Iran and Lebanon.



All sides agreed in October to Trump's ceasefire plan, ⁠which calls for Israel to withdraw from Gaza and Hamas to give up its weapons and forgo a governing role in the enclave.



U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that Washington wants the transitional administration envisioned in Trump's plan - a Board of Peace and a body made up of Palestinian technocrats - to be in place soon to govern Gaza, ahead of the deployment of the international security force that was mandated by a November 17 U.N. Security Council resolution.