Trump to Host Netanyahu in White House on Monday

WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, the White House announced Wednesday, with the two leaders slated to discuss "their countries' shared interests and actions in the Middle East."

The meeting will be held two weeks before the upcoming Knesset election on April 9.

Netanyahu met U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Jerusalem on Thursday as part of the latter's Middle East tour, which began in Kuwait City and will conclude in Beirut at the end of the week.

Kuwait's foreign minister said Wednesday that a long-awaited U.S. peace proposal for the Middle East should be acceptable to all stakeholders and a factor in regional considerations.

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"We hope the plan will take into account the situation in the region and all the relevant parties," Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah said in a joint news conference with Pompeo.

Trump said last month that Netanyahu "has done a great job as prime minister" and called him "tough, smart, strong."

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Also last month, Trump took to Instagram to share an image posted by Netanyahu of a campaign billboard showing the president and prime minister shaking hands. The billboard reads: "Netanyahu. In Another League," and is just one instance of Netanyahu boasting of his connection with Trump as part of his election campaign.

A senior White House official later denied that the Instagram post was a political endorsement, adding that the Trump administration is not endorsing any candidate in the upcoming election.

"It's no secret that President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu have a strong relationship based upon mutual respect and that they reflect the mutual admiration and affection of the American and Israeli people," the official noted.