Israel pushing Trump to visit during upcoming Mideast trip: Report

As Trump prepares for a whirlwind Middle East tour, Israeli officials are lobbying to put Jerusalem on his itinerary.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Israeli officials are trying to persuade President Donald Trump to visit Israel during his visit to the Middle East next week, which will see the American leader stop in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

Trump is expected to meet with senior officials at a regional security conference during the trip, which is scheduled for May 14-16.

During a ceremony officially swearing-in Steve Witkoff as his administration’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, Trump told reporters at the White House that Israel is not on the agenda for this visit to the region.

“We’re not planning on stopping in Israel. We will be doing it at some point, but not [on] this trip,” Trump said on Tuesday.

However, Israeli officials told Hebrew-language outlet Ma’ariv that nevertheless, Trump may briefly stop in Israel. A source said that Trump’s potential visit to the Jewish state “is in no way final, but there are feelers out, and we are certainly taking the possibility into account.”

Israel recently announced that if Hamas does not agree to a hostage deal by the end of Trump’s visit, the IDF will re-occupy Gaza and seize large swathes of the Strip.

The Trump administration has repeatedly signaled that it is eager to secure a deal that would see the release of the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza and stop the fighting between Israel and Hamas.

“I hope we make progress. I hope we get everyone out. I talk to Qatar, Egypt, and Israel almost every day. President Trump wants to get the hostages. Prime Minister Netanyahu wants to get the hostages. We are working in a concerted way,” Witkoff recently told Axios.