Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday again rebutted reports of a rift between himself and President Donald Trump over a Gaza ceasefire deal saying the two are in "full coordination" on their efforts to achieve a hostage-ceasefire deal.
"I completed a second meeting with President Trump," Netanyahu told reporters before a meeting with Senate Majority Leader John Thune. "I want to inform you something that will shock the various reports that came out. President Trump and I have a common goal. We want to achieve the release of our hostages. We want to end Hamas rule in Gaza. We want to make sure that Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel anymore."
Netanyahu said that he and Trump also share a common strategy, not just a common goal.
"In pursuing this common goal, we have a common strategy," he said. "Not only do we have a common strategy, we have common tactics. This doesn't involve pressure, doesn't involve coercion, it involves full coordination."
The prime minister also said that he is not willing to pursue a hostage deal "at any price."
"President Trump wants a deal, but not at any price. I want to deal, but not at any price," he continued. "Israel has security requirements and other requirements, and we're working together to try to achieve it."
Netanyahu again pushed back on reports of friction between him and Trump, saying, "Everything else that you hear and are being briefed on is falling. It's about as accurate as the reports that you had before the Iran war, about the great tension between us, about the great disagreements between us."
The comments came amid reports that the Trump administration is applying pressure on Israel to make concessions regarding the partial withdrawal of IDF troops from certain areas of Gaza during the 60-day ceasefire period.
Shortly before the second meeting between Netanyahu and Trump, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met with a senior Qatari official and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in an attempt to advance the talks. According to a report in Channel 12 News, the meeting focused on the deployment of IDF forces in Gaza as part of a ceasefire agreement. Channel 12 reported that the IDF might vacate parts of the Morag Corridor between Khan Younis and Rafah as part of the ceasefire deal.
On Tuesday, Axios had reported that the final sticking point in the negotiations is the extent of the IDF withdrawal during the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, President Trump, speaking to reporters about the negotiations on Wednesday, expressed optimism that a deal could be reached soon.
"I will tell you we are getting very close to a deal, I don't know if it's secret or non-secret, but it doesn't matter to me, secret is fine if it gets us to where we want to be," Trump said. "We want to have a ceasefire, we want to have peace, we want to get the hostages back, and I think we are close to doing it."
Republished with permission from All Israel News