Trump, Netanyahu’s Fourth Date This Year Could Be Most Awkward Yet

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are back at the White House on Monday, their fourth get-together this year, but this time the vibe is different. After nearly two years of Israel’s devastating war in Gaza, Trump is suddenly talking about “greatness in the Middle East” and hinting that “it’s time for the war to end.” Netanyahu, under pressure at home, says he’s on board with a “day after” plan that would redraw the future of Gaza — at least on paper.

Trump posted on Truth Social Sunday night in his usual all-caps style, promising “something special” and a plan for “greatness in the Middle East.” Netanyahu, appearing on Fox News, played along: Israel, he said, is working with Washington to “make [the plan] a go.”

This 21-point “day after” blueprint first surfaced in side meetings at the UN General Assembly last week. According to Israeli and Western reports, it demands Hamas release all 48 remaining captives (about 20 believed alive) within two days. Fighters would be allowed to leave Gaza or get amnesty if they renounce resistance, humanitarian aid would surge into the enclave, some Palestinian prisoners would be freed from Israeli jails, and Israeli forces would gradually withdraw.

Hamas issued a dry statement on Sunday saying it has received “no new proposal from mediators Egypt and Qatar” but will consider any new offer. At the same time, its armed wing warned it has lost contact with the teams holding two Israeli captives amid Israel’s expanding ground invasion and bombardment.

If Trump is serious about his “something special,” Netanyahu may have to sell the idea back home. The plan, as reported, leaves the door ajar for a future Palestinian state, rejects forced expulsion from Gaza and even promises a right of return for people who leave. That’s the opposite of what Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have been demanding.

These two ministers, both settlers themselves and sanctioned by several western governments, want Gaza flattened, starved and then rebuilt with Israeli settlements. They’ve called for “encouraging voluntary migration” of Palestinians with no return and openly discussed annexation.

They’re furious at the Trump plan. And they’re reminding Netanyahu that his shaky coalition can topple at any time. Likud controls 32 seats in the 120-seat Knesset; without Smotrich and Ben-Gvir’s 13 seats, Netanyahu could be finished. One ultra-Orthodox party has already quit, another is wobbling over conscription exemptions.

Netanyahu knows all this but can’t exactly snub the one U.S. president who’s given him unconditional support and diplomatic cover. It’s the ultimate squeeze: a White House pushing for a ceasefire deal versus cabinet partners pushing for endless war.

The stakes go far beyond Trump and Bibi. After two years of catastrophic war, famine and mass displacement, Gaza’s future is now the ultimate test of U.S.–Israel relations. Trump says “a ceasefire deal [is] pretty close.” Netanyahu says he’s working to “make [the plan] a go.” But back home, both leaders are facing political firestorms: Trump’s 2024-style rallies and looming legal cases, Netanyahu’s collapsing coalition and protests in Israel.