Former US President Donald Trump said his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has always been warm, as the two leaders met on Friday, and the Israeli leader said he was hopeful progress was being made in talks on a Gaza ceasefire.
Netanyahu travelled to Trump’s Florida resort Mar-a-Lago to meet Trump, the Republican candidate in the 2024 US presidential race, after meeting Democratic US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running against Trump in the November 5 US election.
Trump greeted Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, and criticized Harris, who in public comments after meeting the Israeli leader expressed concern about the impact on Palestinian civilians of Israel’s nine-month-old campaign in Gaza.
“I thought his remarks were disgraceful,” Trump said.
Netanyahu said he hoped his visit to the US would lead to a ceasefire agreement soon.
“I hope it will happen. But I think time will tell,” he told reporters. He said he thought ceasefire efforts had made progress because of Israeli military pressure and said he would send a team to Rome for talks.
Trump dismissed any signs of tension with Netanyahu.
“We have a very good relationship,” he said, noting policy changes during his presidency, including moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and pulling the United States out of the international nuclear deal with Iran.
Netanyahu angered Trump by congratulating Biden for his victory over Trump in the 2020 election. Trump falsely claimed the election was stolen from him through voter fraud.
Trump had recently criticized Netanyahu for Israel’s security failures, which prompted Hamas to attack Israel on October 7, leading to the Israeli invasion of Gaza.
Opinion polls show Harris and Trump in a tight race for the White House, prompting world leaders like Netanyahu, who are traditionally more aligned with Trump’s Republicans than Biden’s Democrats, to seek a balance in their dealings with the United States.
Harris pressed Netanyahu on the suffering of Palestinians The talks on Thursday focused on what changes she might make to US policy if she becomes president.
“I have expressed my deep concern about the terrible humanitarian situation there,” Harris said. “I will not be silent.”
“Israel has a right to defend itself. And how it does so matters,” he said.
An unnamed Israeli official said it was hoped that Harris’s comments would not be interpreted by Hamas as driving distance between the United States and Israel and “thus pushing the agreement further apart”.
Addressing Congress on Wednesday, Netanyahu defended Israel’s military and rejected criticism of the campaign that has devastated Gaza and killed more than 39,000 people, according to health officials in the Hamas-ruled territory.
Dozens of Democrats boycotted Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on Wednesday, expressing dismay at the deaths of thousands of civilians in Gaza and the displacement of most of the 2.3 million people there.
In his speech on Wednesday, Netanyahu praised Biden’s support for Israel.
But amid cheers from Republicans, he spoke up about Trump’s pro-Israel record as president. He praised Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a longtime favorite target of conservatives, sparking anger among Palestinians.
He also cited the Abraham Accords, landmark US-brokered agreements signed during Trump’s White House tenure that led to the normalisation of bilateral relations between Israel and Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
According to Israeli figures, Hamas and its allies killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages in the October 7 offensive.
About 115 hostages are still being held, although Israel believes about one in three of them have died.
Israeli officials estimate that about 14,000 fighters from militant groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad have been killed or captured. Their force was estimated to number more than 25,000 at the start of the war.