Trump and Netanyahu to meet in Florida : NPR

Young Palestinians walk past a tent camp for displaced people as the sun sets in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Friday, December 26, 2025.

Abdel Karim Hana/AP

hide caption

toggle caption

Abdel Karim Hana/AP

PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, as Washington seeks to build new momentum for a U.S.-brokered Gaza ceasefire that could risk stalling before a complicated second phase.

Trump could use his face-off at his Mar-a-Lago estate to try to leverage his strong relationship with Netanyahu and seek ways to speed up the peace process, especially as the Israeli leader has been accused of not pushing his camp to act fast enough.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, championed by Trump, has mostly held, but progress has slowed recently. Both sides accuse each other of violations, and divisions have emerged between the United States, Israel and Arab countries over the path forward.

The first phase of the truce began in October, days after the second anniversary of Hamas’s first attack on Israel, which killed around 1,200 people. All but one of the 251 hostages taken then were released, alive or dead.

Now comes the next, much more complicated part. Trump’s 20-point plan – which was approved by the UN Security Council – lays out an ambitious vision for ending Hamas’ rule over Gaza.

The two leaders could also discuss topics unrelated to Gaza, including Iran, whose nuclear capabilities Trump said were “completely and utterly wiped out” following U.S. strikes on its nuclear sites in June.

There are many key facets of the second phase of the ceasefire that the Israeli leader does not support or has even openly opposed, said Mona Yacoubian, director and senior adviser of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“I think it will be a big challenge for President Trump to get Netanyahu to agree,” she said.

“It will be important, I think, to watch how he does that and what kind of pressure he puts on Netanyahu,” said Yacoubian, who also said the two could show “a broader conflict of approaches in the region.”

The next phase is complex

If successful, the second phase would see the reconstruction of a demilitarized Gaza Strip under the international supervision of a group chaired by Trump and known as the Peace Council. The Palestinians would form a “technocratic and apolitical” committee to manage daily affairs in Gaza, under the supervision of the Peace Council.

It further calls for normalized relations between Israel and the Arab world, as well as a possible path to Palestinian independence. Then come thorny logistical and humanitarian issues, including the reconstruction of war-ravaged Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and the creation of a security apparatus called the International Stabilization Force.

The Peace Council would oversee the reconstruction of Gaza under a renewable two-year UN mandate. Its members were expected to be named by the end of the year and could even be revealed after Monday’s meeting, but the announcement could be delayed until next month.

Netanyahu was the first foreign leader to meet with Trump at the White House during his second term, but this will be their first in-person meeting since Trump visited Israel in October to mark the start of the initial phase of the ceasefire. Netanyahu has visited Mar-a-Lago before, including in July 2024, when Trump was still seeking re-election.

Many things remain unanswered

Their latest meeting comes after U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner recently met in Florida with officials from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, who served as mediators for the ceasefire.

Two main challenges complicated the move to the second phase, according to an official briefed on these meetings. Israeli officials took a long time to review and approve members of the Palestinian technocratic committee from a list given to them by mediators, and Israel continues its military strikes.

Trump’s plan also calls for the International Stabilization Force, proposed as a multinational body, to maintain security. But he too is not yet constituted. It’s unclear whether details will be released after Monday’s meeting.

A Western diplomat said there is a “huge gap” between the US-Israeli understanding of the mandate of the International Stabilization Force and that of other major countries in the region, as well as that of European governments.

All spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details that have not been made public.

The United States and Israel want the force to play a “command role” in security tasks, including disarming Hamas and other militant groups. But countries asked to provide troops fear their mandate will turn them into an “occupying force,” the diplomat said.

Hamas has said it is ready to discuss “freezing or stockpiling” its weapons arsenal, but insists it has the right to armed resistance as long as Israel occupies Palestinian territory. A U.S. official said one potential plan could be to offer cash incentives in exchange for weapons, echoing a “buyback” program Witkoff previously launched.

Questions about the reconstruction of Gaza

Israeli bombings and ground operations have transformed neighborhoods in several Gaza towns into rubble-strewn wastelands, with blackened building shells and mounds of debris extending in all directions.

Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are pushing to reach a negotiated agreement on the disarmament of Hamas and an additional Israeli withdrawal from Gaza before moving on to the next elements of the plan. These include the deployment of the international security force and reconstruction, three Arab officials told The Associated Press.

That appears to run counter to ideas put forward by U.S. officials to quickly begin building temporary housing for Palestinians in areas of southern Gaza still controlled by Israeli troops. Three officials said the UAE had agreed to fund reconstruction in Gaza, including new communities, although they said discussions were ongoing and plans remained up in the air.

A proposed map, created by the United States and obtained by the AP, shows an area labeled “United Arab Emirates Temporary Housing Complex” inside an area of ​​Gaza controlled by Israel. The map shows a “US Planned Community Area” surrounding the UAE area.

An Arab official said he was familiar with the map, but said it was a suggestion from the United States and Israel that had been submitted to the United Arab Emirates and other countries.

The UAE did not respond to multiple requests for comment on whether it had agreed to the plans or funded the communities. It is unclear whether the money would be contingent on gestures from Israel and Hamas, such as a commitment to Palestinian statehood or disarmament.