The US is not exerting pressure on Israel to withdraw from Gaza or Lebanon, Tzipi Hotovely, head of National Public Diplomacy, said Tuesday.
“There is an understanding of how Israel should operate in Gaza,” she told reporters following the meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump. “Israel will remain on the Yellow Line, and reconstruction will not begin before full demilitarization.”
The US and Israel shared the same goals regarding Iran, Hotovely said.
“There is full coordination,” she said. “There is complete understanding that our shared objective is to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Israel and the US are fully aligned in their understanding of that goal.”
The “excellent” meeting had focused primarily on Iran and expanding the Abraham Accords, Hotovely said.
Trump, Netanyahu discuss Saudi normalization, Pickaxe mountain threats
To indicate Trump’s commitment to Israel, she said when Netanyahu had called senator Lindsey Graham Israel’s No. 1 friend, Trump interrupted him to say the title belonged to him.
“No, I’m Israel’s No. 1 friend,” she quoted Trump as saying. “Lindsey is No. 2.”
The leaders had not discussed the Temple Mount, F-35 sales, the assassination attempts against Trump, or the drone strikes on Netanyahu’s residence, Hotovely said.
Saudi Arabia was discussed “as part of a broader regional discussion,” but not regarding its civilian nuclear plan, she said.
Reports that Israel had offered Trump intelligence on Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain were false, Hotovely said, adding that the issue did not come up.