Netanyahu to meet Trump on Monday to talk tariffs, Gaza, Iran

Ethan Bronner, Bloomberg News on Apr 5, 2025

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet on Monday with President Donald Trump in Washington to seek a better tariff deal for Israel and to discuss the war in Gaza, the situation in Syria and the Iranian nuclear program, an Israeli official said.

Netanyahu is in the Hungarian capital Budapest where he was warmly welcomed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban in defiance of an arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court in November over Israel’s conduct in Gaza.

The Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Orban and Netanyahu jointly phoned Trump and, on the call, the Israeli leader raised the 17% tariff the U.S. is due to impose on some Israeli goods. Israel hoped to escape tariffs by announcing an end to all remaining tariffs from the U.S. in advance but that failed to work.

The president urged Netanyahu to come to Washington to discuss it, the official said. With the Passover holiday a week away, Netanyahu’s aides suggested a visit later in the month, but the White House wanted the meeting this very Monday, he said.

This will make Netanyahu the first world leader to meet Trump following his announcements of punishing tariffs affecting dozens of countries. Netanyahu was also the first foreign leader to be granted a meeting with Trump after his inauguration in January.

The Israeli official said that while tariffs prompted the meeting, the two leaders will also discuss Gaza, the role of Turkey in Syria and their shared concerns over Iran.

Israel is stepping up its military activity in Gaza, taking territory and driving residents into limited areas, saying such pressure is the key to getting back its hostages still held there by Hamas.

Scores of Palestinians have been killed, driving the death toll from the past 18 months to over 50,000, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. The war, which has reduced much of the coastal enclave to rubble, began when thousands of Hamas operatives crossed into Israel, killing and abducting hundreds.

Some 59 hostages remain, barely two dozen of them thought to be still alive. Negotiations are underway to free another small group but Hamas and Israel disagree fundamentally on where the talks are going. Hamas wants Israel out of Gaza; Israel says the only end possible is the disarming and destruction of Hamas.

Regarding Iran, Trump says he wants direct talks to get the country to give up any possibility of nuclear weapons. If the talks fail, he has said, the nuclear program will be subject to destruction. Israel is skeptical of talks but is careful not to contradict Trump publicly while preparing its military for a possible attack.

The two will also discuss Turkey’s role in Syria. Israel wants to keep southwest Syria demilitarized to prevent any threat on its border. It also has an increasingly hostile relationship with Turkey which is helping the new Syrian government take over. Trump considers Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a friend.

During Netanyahu’s Hungary stay, Orban expressed support for Israel’s war in Gaza as well as its newly aggressive defensive posture. He began the process of removing Hungary from the ICC, declaring the international tribunal to be tainted by politics as evidenced by its warrant against Netanyahu.