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Netanyahu lauds 'excellent' Trump meeting as Israel pushes harder Iran line

Hours before the meeting, President Donald Trump signaled impatience with the Israeli leader.

Trump Netanyahu

On eighth visit, Israel’s Netanyahu seeks to repair ties with Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to focus on Iran in his Tuesday meeting with President Donald Trump, while the US leader is more likely to want to discuss Lebanon and Syria.

Latest News

Analysis

Why US carriers unlikely to rush back to Beirut as Trump lifts Lebanon flight ban

JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

Ahead of Trump meeting, Netanyahu lays groundwork for Israel to rejoin Iran war

GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP via Getty Images

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Explainer

As Turkey rivalry heats up, Greece to acquire $4B Israeli air defense system

David's Sling.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Ben Caspit

Israel Columnist

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Rina Bassist

Associate Editor (Israel)

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Israeli soldiers stand atop tanks in the Golan Heights near Israel's border with Syria March 19, 2014. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo - RTX2JLDC

Russian dominance in Syria is a double-edged sword for Israel

In an interview with Al-Monitor, an Israeli security official discussed the effects of Russia now setting the tone in Syria and explained Israel's complex relations with Russia in its northern front.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara speak to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) during the funeral of former Israeli President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem September 30, 2016. Amos Ben Gershom/Government Press Office (GPO)/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTSQ6QG

New year, new Netanyahu?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has once again proclaimed his support for a two-state solution with the Palestinians, but is he being genuine?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool - RTX2UHUI

How Netanyahu's government is unifying Israeli Arabs

Members of the Joint List feel that coalition head David Bitan's insulting Israeli Arabs is backfiring and instead strengthening and uniting the Israeli Arab sector.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool - RTX2UHUE

Does Netanyahu count on leftist NGOs to save him?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't feel the need to publicly oppose the settlement regularization law and anger the right because he thinks the left will do that work for him and win.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool - RTX2UHUH

Netanyahu's 'Job Act' could win him Trump-like appointment powers

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to have an American-type administration in which he and his associates decide who is appointed to key positions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) stands next to Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump during their meeting in New York, September 25, 2016. Kobi Gideon/Government Press Office (GPO)/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX2SIO7

How Trump emboldens Netanyahu

Has the victory of US President-elect Donald Trump reignited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dream of becoming an all-powerful president of Israel?

Israeli teenagers walk on graffiti reading in Hebrew "Soldier, policeman, refuse orders" as they prepare for an expected eviction of the Jewish settlement outpost of Amona in the West Bank, December 9, 2016. REUTERS/Amir Cohen TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSVF4Q

Will Palestinians pay heavy price for Amona evacuation?

Palestinians fear that Israel will destroy Palestinian homes, lift the construction freeze and resume work on hundreds of new settlement housing units to compensate the settlers for the evacuation of Amona.

An Israeli youth stands on an observation point overlooking the Jewish settlers' outpost of Amona in the West Bank November 16, 2016. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX2TXXS

Will Israel impose Cypriot model in West Bank?

Israel is considering adopting methods that Cyprus used in land disputes to regulate settlements in the West Bank, which has raised the ire of Palestinians.

Tzipi Livni (R) and Isaac Herzog, heads of the centrist Zionist Union party, hold a news conference in Tel Aviv to introduce their party's platform for the March 17 election, March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR4SIUR

Zionist Camp digging itself deeper hole with new campaign

The Zionist Camp’s “Netanyahu’s Hidden Taxes” campaign will be remembered as one of the most detached and disengaged political efforts in years.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting of the Presidential Council for Strategic Development and Priority Projects at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, November 25, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool - RTST9DD

Will Putin invite Netanyahu, Abbas to Moscow?

The United States, France and Russia could join forces to form a new Middle East axis that will promote the two-state process.

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett gestures during a preliminary vote on a bill at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem November 16, 2016. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo - RTSV2KJ

Is Israel’s education minister abandoning secular schools?

Recent data indicates that Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett is using his budget to inject more orthodox and national values into schools, reducing the budget for teaching democratic and pluralistic values.

Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Al Rajoub gestures during a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah November 5, 2015. Palestine will host this month's home World Cup qualifiers against Saudi Arabia and Malaysia in Jordan, soccer's governing body FIFA said on Thursday. FIFA announced on Wednesday that Palestine could no longer stage the matches at their 12,000-capacity Faisal Al-Husseini stadium on the Israeli-occupied West Bank for security reasons. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RTX

Will new Fatah leaders' fluency in Hebrew make a difference?

The Palestinian leaders who were elected for Fatah's Central Committee speak Hebrew fluently, which some analysts say will help break the language barrier during talks with Israelis.