Differences over Hamas, Turkey and Iran overshadow Netanyahu-Trump summit
When Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu meets US President Donald Trump in Washington, expect him to focus on Hamas' disarmament and rail against Turkey taking part in the international stabilization force in Gaza.
TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking two meetings with US President Donald Trump at their year-end summit in Florida, hoping to influence the president’s decisions on several controversial issues. The first meeting would take place on Dec. 29 upon Netanyahu’s arrival, and the second just before his departure about a week later.
Israel’s chief of military intelligence, Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, briefed Trump’s United Nations envoy, Mike Waltz, on Monday on Iran’s efforts to rebuild its missile arsenal and air defenses.
According to an Israeli security source, Binder shared information indicating that the damage Israel inflicted on Iran's ballistic missile industry was less severe than initially assessed and that Iran has already restored its production capacity. The country possesses around 2,000 heavy ballistic missiles — roughly the same number it had on the eve of Israel’s June attacks on its nuclear and missile facilities.
"This is a threat that Israel will not be able to accept for long, and we must coordinate with the Americans the red lines and actions we will take in the future, perhaps even in the near future," the source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.
