In a significant diplomatic engagement at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for their seventh bilateral meeting since January 2025. The closed-door discussions primarily addressed two critical regional issues: the ongoing Gaza stabilization process and prospective negotiations with Iran.
The meeting followed Israel’s formal accession to the Board of Peace, a controversial initiative established under a recent UN Security Council resolution. Prime Minister Netanyahu signed the membership documents alongside U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, cementing Israel’s participation in this new international body. The Board, chaired by President Trump, is mandated to supervise Gaza’s temporary governance and facilitate reconstruction efforts, with its inaugural session scheduled for February 19th in Washington.
This development occurs against the backdrop of a fragile Gaza ceasefire implemented in October under a U.S.-brokered plan. Despite the truce, violations persist with substantial casualties reported—approximately 580 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers have died since October according to respective sources. The Board of Peace now faces the formidable task of establishing an international stabilization force in the region.
Meanwhile, the U.S.-Iran diplomatic landscape remains tense. President Trump stated in recent interviews that Iran appears eager to negotiate, though he emphasized readiness for “tough” measures should diplomacy fail. Netanyahu arrived in Washington expressly intending to influence the agenda for future U.S.-Iran talks, emphasizing principles he deemed essential for Middle Eastern security.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian countered these developments during celebrations of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, criticizing Western-created “walls of distrust” in nuclear negotiations and vowing resistance against excessive demands.
Regional experts like Dina Yulianti Sulaeman of the Indonesia Center for Middle East Studies caution that the Board of Peace risks being perceived as a U.S.-driven political initiative rather than a impartial multilateral mechanism. She warned that any solution treating Gaza as a geopolitical bargaining chip rather than addressing Palestinian rights would inherently favor major powers.