Israeli PM Netanyahu's visit to Washington DC cements alliance between extreme policies

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit this week to Washington, DC gave two unpopular leaders the chance to affirm their alliance and discuss policies that might have seemed unreal prior to the Donald Trump era.

From plans to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza to nominating the US president for a Nobel Peace Prize weeks after Israel and the US bombed Iran, Netanyahu's visit has been a show of confirming the two countries' alliance.

"I think both leaders are leading their respective countries to catastrophe. The meetings codified policies that help maintain genocide in Gaza and creates conditions for the Arab states that are even worse than they are now," David Frank, a professor of rhetoric and political communication, told The New Arab.

On Monday, Netanyahu arrived in Washington for his third visit to see Trump since the US president took office for a second term in January. The visit came on the heels of Israeli airstrikes on Iran and its continued war on Gaza, which now appears to include a plan for forced displacement of Palestinians from the enclave.

The visit was met with demonstrations and a joint press conference by civil rights advocates near the White House.

"We are not here to welcome a guest. We are here to expose a war criminal. We're here because our government behind us is rewarding genocide with weapons, with money, and with silence," Robert McCaw, government affairs officer with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said at a press conference in front of the White House on Monday.

"President Trump promised to end unnecessary foreign entanglements, claiming that he would be the president of peace, that only he could deliver a ceasefire to Gaza, a ceasefire that Netanyahu broke. Yet, standing inside the White House today is Benjamin Netanyahu, a wanted war criminal," he said.

McCaw demanded an unconditional ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian access to all of Gaza, and an end to US involvement in the Gaza Humanitarian Aid Foundation—this project has sparked outrage over Palestinians dying from airstrikes while seeking aid.

Netanyahu, for his part, praised Trump following the White House dinner for forging the Abraham Accords, a deal that normalises relations with Arab countries while sidelining Palestinians.

Trump said he expects to restart talks with Iran for a renewed nuclear deal and also expects a ceasefire in Gaza in the coming days, though he didn't elaborate on how these steps would be taken.

"Netanyahu sees himself as visiting the US in the wake of an enormous victory in getting the US to bomb Iran. It wasn't a victory," said Frank. "If Trump had not abandoned the Iran deal, Iran would not be in the position to threaten Israel with a nuclear distraction."