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"Positive and friendly": Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Steve Witkoff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and US Envoy Steve Witkoff and will send a "working echelon" delegation to Doha following the meeting.

Netanyahu, Witkoff, Dermer.
Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met this morning (Tuesday) with US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.

The Prime Minister's office described the meeting, which took place together with Ron Dermer, as "positive and friendly."

According to the office's statement, "Pursuant to the meeting, Israel is preparing for the working-echelon delegation to leave for Doha at the end of this week in order to discuss technical details related to the continued implementation of the agreement.

"Upon his return from the US, Prime Minister Netanyahu will convene the Security Cabinet to discuss Israel's overall positions regarding the second stage of the deal, which will guide the continuation of the negotiations."

Netanyahu will meet today with President Trump in the afternoon, where the two leaders will discuss matters involving the hostage deal, normalization with Saudi Arabia, and how to deal with the threat presented by the Iranian nuclear weapons program.

Either before or after this meeting, Trump will view the "film of horrors" showing social media footage of Hamas atrocities committed during October 7, at the recommendation of Witkoff, who saw the film when visiting Israel last week and who left the screening "stunned and shocked."

Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly convened a security consultation last week to look into the possibility of restarting the war after the first stage of the hostage deal, and senior Israeli sources speaking to Israeli media said he appeared to be heading in that direction. The IDF is preparing operational plans for renewing the fighting if the government decides to do so.

Hawkish elements within Netanyahu's coalition have insisted that Netanyahu do so, while more dovish ones such as the Haredi parties have pushed hard for him to complete the deal and return all the hostages through negotiation - "to the last hostage." President Herzog has also pushed for the same.

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