US President Donald Trump has invited Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the White House in the ‘near future’, the Israeli prime minister’s office said on Monday, shortly after Trump said Israel should maintain a strong and truthful dialogue with Syria.
If confirmed, this will be the Israeli prime minister’s fifth visit since Trump returned to office in January. The two leaders have publicly displayed a close relationship, although US and Israeli sources have said that Trump has expressed frustration with Netanyahu on a few occasions.
The prime minister’s office said Netanyahu and Trump discussed the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza. In September, Trump announced a plan to end the Gaza war and a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been in effect since October.
Continues after advertising
Trump had previously said in a statement that it was very important that Israel maintain a ‘strong and truthful dialogue’ with neighboring Syria and that ‘nothing happens that interferes with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous state’.
“Syria and Israel will have a long and prosperous relationship together,” said Trump, whose administration is trying to broker a non-aggression pact between the two.
Syria does not formally recognize Israel, which has occupied more Syrian territory since December 2024. Israel has occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since 1967 and subsequently annexed them, a move recognized by the United States but not by most other countries.
Trump has backed Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, while Israel has expressed hostility over its past links to Islamic militancy and lobbied Washington to keep Syria weakened.
An Israeli strike in southern Syria on Friday killed 13 Syrians, Syrian state media reported. The Israeli military said it was targeting a Lebanese Islamic militant group there.
On Sunday, Netanyahu asked Israel’s president for a pardon in his long-running corruption trial. Trump has publicly expressed his support for Netanyahu’s pardon and sent a letter last month asking President Isaac Herzog to consider the possibility.
Continues after advertising
The prime minister’s statement about the call with Trump did not mention the pardon. Members of the Israeli opposition spoke out against the request and called on Netanyahu to resign.
