Netanyahu meets Trump at Mar-a-Lago, expresses optimism about Gaza ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought Friday to mend ties with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and expressed measured optimism about progress toward a Gaza ceasefire deal, as he neared the end of a contentious visit to the United States that has highlighted growing divisions in the United States over support for the Israeli-Hamas war. At Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the two men met face-to-face for the first time in nearly four years, Netanyahu told reporters he hoped to see the U.S.-brokered talks result in a ceasefire and the release of the hostages. “I hope so,” Netanyahu said, when asked by reporters whether his U.S. trip had made any progress. As Netanyahu faces growing accusations at home of resisting a deal to end the nine-month war to avoid the potential collapse of his far-right government when it ends, he said Friday that he was “certainly looking forward to one. And we’re working on it.” As president, Trump has gone far beyond his predecessors in carrying out Netanyahu’s most important wishes for the presidency.