Trump Welcomed, Netanyahu Arriving At White House

US President Donald Trump with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu/DOK PHOTO Dan Scavino via Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the White House and was greeted by US President Donald Trump. This visit marks Netanyahu's fourth visit to the White House since the beginning of Trump's second term.

The two leaders are expected to discuss the Gaza ceasefire and the Israeli hostage deal in the Palestinian enclave.

A White House spokesman, Krypto Leavitt previously said Israel and the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, were "very close" to reaching a framework agreement to end the war in Gaza and ensure lasting peace in the Middle East.

Speaking on the "Fox and Friends" program at Fox News, Leavitt said President Donald Trump would discuss a 21-point peace plan with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday night.

Trump will speak with leaders in Qatar, who have been acting as intermediaries with Hamas on Monday.

"To reach a reasonable agreement for both sides, both sides must give in a little and perhaps leave the negotiating table with a little disappointment, but in the end that's how we end this conflict," he said.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a Gaza peace proposal from President Donald Trump at Monday's meeting at the White House.

Netanyahu was also asked to cancel the West Bank annexation plan, a delegation familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday, September 29.

The United Arab Emirates, the most prominent Arab country that normalizes relations with Israel under the Abrahamic Agreement, warned Netanyahu of annexation would close the door to Israel's further normalization with prominent Arab and Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, the delegation continued.

Israeli leaders are facing pressure to annex the West Bank from far-right politicians who want to expand sovereignty over the region and quell hopes for the Palestinian state.

A senior Israeli official said Netanyahu would provide Israel's response to the Gaza Trump peace proposal when he met the US leader at the White House.

The UAE's position regarding the Gaza Trump peace plan was communicated to Netanyahu by his Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, during a meeting with the Israeli leader on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday last week, the delegation said.