President Trump is expected to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a visit on Monday, a White House official told NewsNation.
The meeting will take place just days after the president announced a 17 percent tariff on imported goods from the Middle Eastern country. Netanyahu would be the first international leader to visit the White House after the president’s “Liberation Day” tariffs announcement against U.S. trading partners.
Trump requested the visit via phone on Thursday during Netanyahu’s trip to Hungary, according to Axios, who first reported the potential visit. Netanyahu’s office has not confirmed the Monday meeting.
Days before the call, the Israeli leader said he would all customs duties levied on products from the U.S., Israel’s largest trading partner.
“Cancelling the customs duties on American goods is an additional step in the policy that my governments have led for a decade in opening up the market to competition, introducing variety to the economy and lowering the cost of living,” Netanyahu wrote in a Tuesday post on the social platform X.
“In addition to the advantages to the market and to citizens of Israel, the current effort will allow us to further strengthen the alliance and ties between Israel and the U.S.,” he added.
A meeting with Trump to further discuss trade relations would require Netanyahu to push back planned hearings surrounding his ongoing corruption trial. The plan for a Monday meeting could still fall through if his request for postponement is denied, Axios reported.
The reported visit also comes just a few weeks after Israel resumed strikes on Gaza as the Trump administration looks to broker a ceasefire between the country and Hamas.
The White House did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment on the matter.
