Trump-Netanyahu meeting prioritized flattery over Gaza ceasefire efforts.
Donald Trump’s meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida was marked by many cordial remarks but no tangible progress on a peace plan for Gaza.
The US president and the Israeli prime minister held a private lunch at Mar-a-Lago, which was intended to discuss a range of issues in the Middle East.
Trump told reporters at the start of the meeting that he planned to discuss “five main issues” with Netanyahu, adding that they had come close to resolving three of them in the first five minutes of the meeting.
In addition to Gaza, Trump mentioned plans to address issues in the occupied West Bank and alleged threats from Iran, CNN reported. But after more than an hour, the two sides had not announced any new achievements or progress.
Instead, they seemed content to heap praise on each other, with Netanyahu even announcing his intention to award Trump Israel’s highest civilian honor.
Intense flattery, long-standing differences
Trump and Netanyahu spent much of their time in public praising each other, both keen to show that their relationship was better than ever despite occasional tensions over the past year and Trump’s growing concerns about some of Israel’s actions in his efforts to maintain peace in the Middle East.
“We’ve never had a friend like President Trump in the White House,” the Israeli prime minister said upon his arrival. “It’s not even comparable.”