Journalism of Courage
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that US President Donald Trump has invited him to the White House on September 29, three days after his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Reuters reported.
Netanyahu announced the meeting schedule during a press briefing in Jerusalem which focused on Israel’s economy, after the prime minister faced criticism for saying a day earlier that the country needs to become self-reliant.
Detailing about the invite, Netanyahu said the invitation came amid a phone with the US president on Monday, while adding that he has had several telephonic conversations with Trump since Israel launched its September 9 strike on Qatar’s capital Doha targeting the political leadership of Hamas. Netanyahu said all the calls were “good,” reported Times of Israel.
Since Trump returned to the White House in January, Netanyahu has visited Washington thrice and it’ll be the fourth meeting between the two leaders this year.
The visit by Netanyahu later this month would come as US has backed the Israeli attempt to seize Gaza City by launching a major offensive which kicked off on Tuesday, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in Tel Aviv left for Qatar during his Middle East tour.
Rubio, while in Israel, supported the Benjamin Netanyahu-led military’s attempt to take over the Gaza City by launching a massive operation and warned Hamas that the “ideal outcome” for the militant group would be to simply surrender, but “it may require ultimately a concise military operation to eliminate them.”
(with inputs from Reuters, Times of Israel)
