Trump arrives in Israel looking for a Mideast peace deal


President Trump arrived in Israel from Saudi Arabia on Monday, for a 36-hour visit that includes a meeting in the West Bank city of Bethlehem with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Trump will also meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has scheduled a visit to the Western Wall in East Jerusalem and a 15-minute tour of Yad Vashem, the official Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, followed by a speech at the Israel Museum.
The main focus of Trump's visit, however, is a push to restart stalled peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians. When he hosted Abbas at the White House, Trump said Mideast peace is "something that I think is, frankly, maybe not as difficult as people have thought over the years," and in an interview with the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom published Sunday, Trump said, "I think we have a very, very good chance of making a deal." Aides are trying to tamp down expectations.
Trump's visit is also complicated by officially unconfirmed revelations that Trump shared highly classified intelligence from Israel with Russian diplomats, potentially putting it into the hands of Iran, Russia's ally and Israel's arch-enemy. At a meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu had to order his cabinet ministers to greet Trump at the airport, CNN and Israel's Haaretz report; the officials were reportedly unenthusiastic about traveling to the airport when Trump would have time to shake hands only with Netanyahu and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. Right-wing Israeli politicians are disappointed that Trump has moderated his position on Israeli settlements and the status of Jerusalem, and Palestinians are planning protests to highlight a hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners in Israel. After Israel, Trump heads to Rome to meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Truck drivers are questioning the Trump administration's English mandate
Talking Points Some have praised the rules, others are concerned they could lead to profiling
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich thrower
Speed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school mass
Speed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich thrower
Speed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodus
Speed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policing
Speed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Speed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportation
Speed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
-
Trump arms National Guard in DC, threatens other cities
speed read His next targets are Chicago, New York and Baltimore