Today, Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Donald Trump in the White House. Robert Satloff argues that the two have an opportunity not merely to address the most urgent issues concerning the war with Hamas, but to craft a strategy that can reshape the region:
When President Trump welcomes the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Tuesday, their conversation will focus on a Middle East where Israel’s stunning military prowess—supported by its American patron—has tilted the balance of power more heavily in favor of the U.S. and its allies than at any point in decades. The challenge for Trump is how to take advantage of this moment.
Over the next four years, the potential is real for Trump to achieve, with our Israeli partners, peace agreements on five fronts: with Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, [other] Arab and Muslim states, and the Palestinians. . . . With Syria and Lebanon, the first task is to strengthen the nationalist foundations of their new governments so that outside powers, such as Iran or Turkey, are not able to hold power behind the scenes.
All of that would be made easier by progress with Saudi Arabia, where a three-way set of defense and normalization agreements with the U.S. and Israel, negotiated by the Biden administration, is waiting to be signed.
More about: Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump, Middle East, U.S.-Israel relationship