As Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu prepare for their critical Gaza summit, regional experts are closely analyzing whether the U.S. president’s signature style of pressure politics can sway a deeply determined Israeli prime minister. The outcome of the meeting, analysts say, will come down to a pure test of leverage and political will.
Natan Sachs, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, articulated the central dynamic of the meeting. “Netanyahu has a clear preference for continuing the war and defeating Hamas,” Sachs noted, “but I don’t think it’s impossible for Trump to convince him otherwise.” This suggests that while Netanyahu’s position is firm, it is not unchangeable.
The pressure from Trump is multifaceted. It includes the positive incentive of a comprehensive, regionally-backed peace deal, and the negative incentive of potential friction with his most crucial ally. Trump’s recent public warnings to Netanyahu on other issues have been interpreted as a clear signal that he is willing to apply this negative pressure.
However, Netanyahu is operating under his own set of pressures, including a domestic political base that expects a decisive victory against Hamas. He is also guided by a long-standing security doctrine that is skeptical of deals that leave potential threats intact. He will weigh the risks of alienating Trump against the risks of what he perceives as a premature end to the war.
Ultimately, the analysis suggests that the meeting’s success is not guaranteed. It will depend on how skillfully Trump deploys his leverage and whether Netanyahu calculates that the benefits of accepting the U.S. deal now outweigh the perceived advantages of continuing the military campaign. The world is watching to see which leader’s political calculus will prevail.