{"id":122443,"date":"2025-07-09T17:05:32","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T15:05:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=122443"},"modified":"2025-07-09T07:38:48","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T05:38:48","slug":"09-05-118","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=122443","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Transformational\u2019 plans for Mideast crux of Trump, Netanyahu meetings"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>\u2018Transformational\u2019 plans for Mideast crux of Trump, Netanyahu meetings<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Andrew Bernard<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n

\u201cI think with Iran, the game is still on,\u201d Assaf Orion, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told JNS. \u201cIt\u2019s not \u2018Mission Accomplished.\u2019 We can\u2019t go and have beers because this problem is solved.\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n

.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a second meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, and also attended by Vice President JD Vance, held in the Oval Office in the White House on July 8, 2025. Credit: Avi Ohayon\/GPO.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

As U.S. and Israeli leaders continue to hold meetings in Washington on Tuesday, experts told JNS that the discussions between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be \u201ctransformational\u201d for the entire Middle East.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JNS that what the two leaders have described of their plans could reset the region.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAn end to Iranian aggression, peace between Israel and Syria, plus an end to the Gaza war with resettlement opportunities for Gazans and regional leadership in the Strip? One of these would be a remarkable achievement,\u201d Schanzer said. \u201cAll of them would amount to a new Middle East.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the two leaders laid out last night was nothing short of transformational,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Things may be moving in the right direction\u2019<\/strong><\/h4>\n

At their White House\u00a0dinner<\/a>\u00a0on Monday, Trump and Netanyahu said that they were working on a plan to relocate Gazans either within the coastal enclave in what Trump called a \u201cfreedom zone,\u201d or to third countries.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think President Trump had a brilliant vision. It\u2019s called free choice. If people want to stay, they can stay, but if they want to leave, they should be able to leave,\u201d Netanyahu said.<\/span><\/p>\n

He emphasized that Gaza \u201cshouldn\u2019t be a prison. It should be an open place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In February, Trump first\u00a0suggested<\/a>\u00a0that the United States could \u201cown\u201d the Gaza Strip with implications for U.S. involvement that drew\u00a0criticism<\/a>\u00a0from some Republican lawmakers and a number of Arab states.<\/span><\/p>\n

Schanzer told JNS that the latest discussions of plans for the long-term redevelopment of Gaza no longer seem to phase regional leaders.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t see a massive backlash to Trump\u2019s comments last night,\u201d Schanzer said. \u201cThat seems significant to me. I get the sense that things may be moving in the right direction.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Assaf Orion, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Politics and a retired brigadier general in the Israel Defense Forces, told JNS that any maximalist versions of those plans to relocate Gazans and reoccupy the Strip would carry \u201ca prohibitive cost in blood and treasure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t heard of a single country willing to take them in,\u201d Orion said. \u201cIt looks like one of the magical thinking solutions that both parties to the conflict share\u2014wishing that when we get up next morning, the other side won\u2019t be here. I don\u2019t see it as a realistic option.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf we are to occupy Gaza and manage it with military rule, this would be our national project for the next generation,\u201d he added. \u201cThis is billions and billions of dollars, and 100,000s of soldiers and an endless amount of casualties.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Schanzer and Orion agreed that Netanyahu is likely conducting this latest trip to Washington\u2014his third since Trump resumed office\u2014with an eye to potential elections that could improve his majority in the Knesset and reduce his reliance on right-wing parties led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel\u2019s national security minister, and Bezalel Smotrich, its finance minister, both of whom object to a ceasefire-for-hostages deal with Hamas.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis visit undeniably boosts Netanyahu\u2019s political profile at home,\u201d Schanzer said. \u201cBut Bibi has some big choices ahead. Does he call for snap elections as a means to ride the wave of successes he\u2019s experienced? There is risk. But there is also risk in riding out his term with Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, who will try to derail any efforts to reach an end to the conflict in Gaza.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNetanyahu may not love the idea, but Trump does,\u201d he stated. \u201cAnd that accounts for quite a lot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very clear in recent weeks that he\u2019s already campaigning for elections,\u201d Orion said. \u201cI think that Netanyahu\u2014the No. 1 politician in Israel, bar none\u2014knows how to identify the political and electoral potential of the victory over Iran. He also knows how to play the political potential of his relations with President Trump. He\u2019s now showing his hand as the statesman, as the victor of Iran, as the savior of the nation from nuclear annihilation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe may be seeing an election as an option, maybe even a desirable option,\u201d Orion said. \u201cThe calculus that guided Netanyahu so far in decisions about Gaza might have changed a little with elections before his eyes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s not a one-shot problem\u2019<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Trump said on Monday that the United States would begin \u201cvery high-level\u201d direct talks with the Iranians on Saturday to try to find a solution for Washington\u2019s remaining issues with Iran\u2019s nuclear program after the U.S. strikes in mid-June on the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re dealing with them directly, and maybe a deal is going to be made, that\u2019ll be great,\u201d Trump said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be really great for Iran, I can tell you that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the open questions about negotiations with Iran is whether the U.S. and Israeli air campaign against Iran\u2019s nuclear sites, air defenses and military leadership has left them more open to a deal or will push them to further preserve and conceal their nuclear activities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe regime has very little leverage right now,\u201d Schanzer told JNS. \u201cI don\u2019t know if a nuclear deal matters at this moment. Deterrence and freedom of action seem to be the key ingredients to prevent a renewed nuclear program. A deal with Iran that ends the nuclear program, the ballistic-missile program and the proxy network would be a massive lift. But if there was ever a time to try, it would be now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Orion said he had concerns that despite the \u201cworld-class\u201d air campaign against Iran, the United States and the international community might falsely view the problem of Iran\u2019s threat to Israel as settled.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a high probability that they won\u2019t agree on the diplomatic side, that they will slow roll the negotiation, and, on the side, they will try to recuperate, to salvage whatever\u2019s possible and to hide it somewhere,\u201d Orion said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a one-shot problem. It\u2019s an ongoing effort.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That commitment will have to be similar to the campaign against Hamas, even if the war in Gaza comes to an end, Orion told JNS.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think with Iran, the game is still on,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not \u2018Mission Accomplished.\u2019 We can\u2019t go and have beers because this problem is solved. On Gaza, there\u2019s a wide understanding that this war must end, even if we will need to continue campaigning against Hamas for years and decades to come. There\u2019s no total victory in that sense.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Zawarto\u015b\u0107 publikowanych artyku\u0142\u00f3w i materia\u0142\u00f3w nie reprezentuje pogl\u0105d\u00f3w ani opinii Reunion’68,<\/em>
\nani te\u017c webmastera Blogu Reunion’68, chyba ze jest to wyra\u017anie zaznaczone.
\nTwoje uwagi, linki, w\u0142asne artyku\u0142y lub wiadomo\u015bci prze\u015blij na adres:
\n<\/em>webmaster@reunion68.com<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Transformational\u2019 plans for Mideast crux of Trump, Netanyahu meetings Andrew Bernard \u201cI think with Iran, the game is still on,\u201d Assaf Orion, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told JNS. \u201cIt\u2019s not \u2018Mission Accomplished.\u2019 We can\u2019t go and have beers because this problem is solved.\u201d . Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122443"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=122443"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122455,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122443\/revisions\/122455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=122443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=122443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=122443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}