WASHINGTON DC -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed in Washington, DC, early Sunday morning to begin a four-day visit in the middle of the election campaign.
The centerpiece of his visit will be two meetings with US President Donald Trump. The first is a working meeting scheduled for Monday and the second is a dinner on Tuesday evening.
Netanyahu made clear that he will thank the US president for his historic recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and also discuss with him how to further roll back Iran’s efforts in the region and its drive to obtain nuclear weapons.
Netanyahu said that before taking off that there has never been a closer relationship between a US president and an Israeli prime minister, and he asserted that this was "a very, very important asset” for Israel.
This will be the sixth bilateral meeting between the two leaders.
The prime minister, who will be staying at the Blair House, right across from the White House, is accompanied by his wife, Sara, and his son, Yair.
Science, Technology and Space Minister Ofir Akunis was also on the prime minister’s plane, as he will be meeting in the White House as well as with Trump's science adviser.
Netanyahu is scheduled to speak at the AIPAC Policy Conference on Tuesday, followed by meetings with both Democratic and Republican Senate and House of Representative leaders that same day.
The prime minister is scheduled to return to Israel on Thursday.