Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will become the first world leader to visit the White House on Tuesday when he holds meetings with President Donald Trump.
A senior administration official confirmed the trip, but stressed that it was a ‘working meeting’ without the ceremony of an ‘official visit.’
DailyMail.com understands that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is also due to visit in February, along with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is also expected soon.
Netanyahu’s place at the top of the list lays down a marker for Trump’s priorities in office, as he eyes the next step in a tricky negotiation between Hamas and Israel, and pushes for the reconstruction of Gaza.
The issue dominated his second week in office after he told reporters aboard Air Force One that he wanted Jordan and Egypt to take refugees from ‘demolition zone’ Gaza.
He also previewed his plans for a meeting telling reporters he expected Netanyahu in Washington ‘in the not too distant future.’
In his invitation to the Israeli prime minister, Trump wrote: ‘I look forward to discussing how we can bring peace to Israel and its neighbors, and efforts to counter our shared adversaries.’
Netanyahu has been a frequent guest of presidents of both parties.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday. The two are seen here at the White House in 2020
Sir Keir Starmer, British prime minister, is also expected to visit in February
He was last at the White House in July when he met President Joe Biden, and he addressed lawmakers at a joint session of Congress.
The order is a change from Trump’s first time in office.
Then his first guest was Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May, whose Conservative Party is more closely aligned with Trump than Starmer’s Labour Party.
Trump’s allies have been irritated by past comments made by some of Starmer’s office holders and by Lord Peter Mandelson, the incoming British ambassador.
However, Trump has tamped down questions about rifts with Washington’s closest ally and has had only warm words for Starmer since taking office.
‘I think he’s done a very good job thus far,’ he told reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday.
‘He’s represented his country in terms of his philosophy. I may not agree with his philosophy but I have a very good relationship with him.’
The two spoke by phone on Sunday, making Starmer the first European leader to talk with Trump.
Trump and his administration have focused much of their time and attention on leaders in Central and Southern America as they look to deport hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants.
But Trump also spoke with Modi on Monday, and officials from both sides are working to establish a date for a visit.
