Netanyahu To Meet Trump, Other World Leaders In Davos

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland—the fourth face-to-face between the two leaders over the past year. A main focus will be the current standoff between Washington and the Palestinians and whether the U.S. administration can sufficiently bridge the gap with the aim of presenting a comprehensive peace plan that has been in the works since President Trump assumed office. Iran is also expected to top the agenda, with the American leader having recently confirmed that he will pull out of the nuclear deal signed with world powers within the next three months unless modifications are made to “fix” the accord. In this respect, the White House is pushing to amend what President Trump has called the agreement’s “serious flaws,” foremost the so-called “sunset clauses” that fully expire after fifteen years, as well as its failure to hold Tehran accountable for its ballistic missile tests, which contravene existing United Nations Security Council resolutions. Among the other leaders Netanyahu will meet are German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, whose countries are both signatories to the atomic agreement and who have demonstrated little appetite for amending the pact. Additionally, the Israeli premier is scheduled to meet with the leaders of Belgium, The Netherlands, Canada, Ukraine and Azerbaijan, as well as with the heads of major international corporations. Netanyahu will deliver a keynote speech at the summit on Thursday.