Foreign pool report #1: Background Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
- From
- Jihan Abdalla
- Sent
- Wednesday, February 11, 2026 10:32 AM
Good morning,
My name is Jihan Abdalla, I am your foreign pooler for the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House today, February 11, 2026. This is the Israeli Premier’s fifth visit to the White House since US President Donald Trump began his second term.
Schedule:
The meeting is scheduled for 11:00am in the Oval Office and is currently closed to press. Your pooler will update if that changes.
Mr Netanyahu arrived in Washington on Tuesday evening, and is staying at the Blair House.
Israel's Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter shared a photo on X late on Tuesday showing a photo of Mr Netanyahu holding a meeting at the Blair House with envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Purpose of visit
The meeting is expected to focus primarily on ongoing US negotiations with Iran. Gaza, the new Board of Peace as well as other regional issues are also likely to be on the agenda.
Mr Netanyahu is expected to press the Trump administration to ensure Israel’s security concerns are incorporated into any potential agreement with Iran.
He has repeatedly said that any deal must extend beyond nuclear restrictions to include limitations on Iran’s ballistic-missile program and an end to its support for proxy groups across the region.
“The Prime Minister believes any negotiations must include limitations on ballistic missiles and a halting of the support for the Iranian axis,” Mr Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Saturday.
Departing Israel on Tuesday, Mr Netanyahu added: “I will present to the president our outlook regarding the principles of these negotiations — the essential principles, which, in my opinion are important not only to Israel, but to everyone around the world who wants peace and security in the Middle East,” he said.
“On this trip, we will discuss a series of issues: Gaza, the region, but first and foremost, the negotiations with Iran.”
The visit was reportedly moved up from its original date of February 18.
Context
The visit comes after US officials held indirect talks with Iranian negotiators in Oman last week aimed at reaching a nuclear agreement. Envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner participated in the discussions.
Mr Trump had earlier deployed the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and additional US warships to the region, raising concerns about possible military escalation.
Last month, the US President threatened military intervention during a government crackdown on widespread protests in Iran that left thousands dead.
Israel’s Channel 12 and Axios reported on Tuesday that Mr Trump is considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to further prepare for military action should negotiations with Iran fail.
“The Iranians really want to make a deal. Either we make a deal, or we have to do something very tough – like last time,” he told Channel 12.
In June last year, Mr Trump joined an Israeli strike targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.
Background
Mr Trump has described the talks with Iran as “completely different” from those held last year, and previously called them “very good.” He has said additional negotiations would take place this week.
On Friday, he indicated that an agreement addressing only Iran’s nuclear program “would be acceptable.”
Tehran, however, has said it will not negotiate on issues beyond its nuclear activities and will not relinquish its right to enrich uranium.
The visit also comes as Mr Trump prepares for the first meeting of the newly formed Board of Peace, scheduled for February 19.
Mr Netanyahu accepted the President’s invitation to serve on the board, and his original visit date was intended to coincide with its inaugural session. It is unclear if he will return to the US to attend.
The board is intended to oversee a reconstruction plan for Gaza.
The Trump administration brokered a ceasefire agreement in Gaza that took effect on October 10, 2025 under the 20-point peace plan proposed by Mr Trump and agreed on by Israel and Hamas. It also received widespread international support.
Officials say plans for an international peacekeeping force meant to provide security in Gaza are underway, and Palestinians have been allowed to enter and leave the Strip through a reopened Rafah border with Egypt. According to the agreement, Hamas is required to demilitarize in exchange for amnesty, but that effort has stalled amid the group’s unwillingness to relinquish control.
Gaza’s health officials say Israeli strikes on the Strip have continued, and 586 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect.
The visit to Washington also comes after Israel took a major step towards annexing the West Bank, a move Mr Trump had previously said that he would not allow Israel to do.
Previous visits
February 4, 2025 — Mr Netanyahu became the first foreign leader to visit Mr Trump after he took office. A meeting intended to focus on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire was overtaken by Mr Trump’s announcement at a press conference that he intended to take over Gaza and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
April 7, 2025 — The primary purpose of this visit was to negotiate a reduction in tariffs imposed on Israel as part of the President’s sweeping tariff policy announced on April 2. A planned press conference was cancelled.
July 7, 2025 — The leaders discussed the aftermath of the June war with Iran and broader Israeli concerns regarding Iran and Syria. On Gaza, Mr Netanyahu stated that Palestinians should have the choice to remain or relocate, while security must stay under Israeli control. That evening, Mr Netanyahu presented Mr Trump with a letter nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. The pair held a second meeting two days later amid reports of a breakthrough in the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
September 29, 2025 — Following a closed-press meeting, Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu unveiled a 20-point peace plan aimed at ending the war in Gaza, rebuilding the enclave, and setting the region on a path to what the President called “eternal peace.”
December 29, 2025 — In a meeting at Mar-a-Lago, Florida Mr Trump warned Iran against expanding its nuclear programme, while Mr Netanyahu lobbied for US support for continued pressure on Tehran. Mr Netanyahu and his wife Sara were present at Mr Trump’s New Year’s Eve party at the resort in Palm Beach.
Biography
Mr Netanyahu, 76, widely known by his nickname “Bibi,” was born in Tel Aviv in 1949 and spent part of his youth in the United States, attending high school near Philadelphia.
He served in the Israeli army’s elite special forces unit in the early 1970s. In the 1980s he became Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israeli Embassy in Washington and later Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations. During his time in the US, he frequently appeared on American television as an English-speaking advocate for Israel.
Elected prime minister for the first time in 1996 at age 46, he was the youngest leader in Israel’s history. He has headed the Likud party—save a brief gap—since 1993.
He returned to the premiership in 2009, holding the position until 2021, the longest consecutive tenure in the country’s history. He was elected again in November 2022 and now leads a right-wing, religiously conservative coalition.
Jihan Abdalla
Senior US Correspondent
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