Trump meets with Netanyahu for 1st time post-presidency amid Israel-Hamas war

Former President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent Friday morning meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, the first meeting for the pair since Trump left office.

The high-stakes meeting comes as tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate and the Israel-Hamas war is a top foreign policy issue heading into November's election.

Netanyahu has spent the week in the United States meeting with officials and addressing Congress. Netanyahu met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris separately on Thursday and delivered an address to Congress earlier this week.

After Harris' meeting with Netanyahu, she took the lead in addressing the public about their discussions. Harris called on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid in, and later stressed the importance for Israel to avoid more civilian casualties in Gaza. The vice president is working to define her stance in a key election issue that has been a source of criticism for Biden.

"I see you and I hear you. Let's get the deal done so we can get a cease-fire to end the war. Let's bring the hostages home, and let's provide much needed relief to the Palestinian people," Harris said in her remarks.

Trump attacked Harris for her comments following his own meeting with Netanyahu, calling them "disrespectful to Israel."

"She's really a destroyer, she doesn't know how to build," Trump said of Harris, later adding -- without any specifics -- that "she was certainly disrespectful to Israel, in my opinion."

On the campaign trail, Trump has claimed that the Israel-Hamas war would not have happened under his presidency and that if reelected, he will ensure peace in the Middle East and around the world -- while not detailing how he would make that happen other than claiming that he gets along with world leaders.

The Friday meeting comes as Trump has recently couched his support for Israel with sharp criticisms of Netanyahu's handling of the Israel-Hamas war, arguing he wasn't prepared to handle the attack on Oct. 7.

"I want him to finish it up and get it done quickly. You got to get it done quickly," Trump said when he called in to "Fox & Friends" on Thursday morning, adding that "Israel is not very good at public relations."

And as families of American hostages held captive by Hamas, after meeting with Biden and Netanyahu this week, called for a prompt cease-fire deal that allowed their release, Trump has repeatedly said over the past few months that the negotiations are going slowly because he believes "many" of the hostages have already been killed.

Roughly 75 living hostages are thought to be held in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.

"You got to get your hostages back," Trump said on "Fox & Friends." "I think they are going to have a lot of bad news with the hostages. I think some of those hostages, many of them maybe, are dead."

Trump mentioned the hostages on Friday, saying "it's a very tough situation."

"They have to be given back immediately because there can be no way that they're in good shape. They're obviously not being treated properly," he said. "And you hope that they're OK, but there are a lot of hostages. I'm sure they will not be OK. And that's just not an acceptable situation."

While Trump was president, the pair had a close relationship. Netanyahu visited the White House in September 2020 to sign the Abraham Accords -- a bilateral agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates seen as a peace treaty recognizing Israel's sovereignty mediated by the United States.

"We're here this afternoon to change the course of history. After decades of division and conflict, we mark the dawn of a new Middle East," Trump said on the White House South Lawn at the time. "Thanks to the great courage of the leaders of these three countries, we take a major stride toward a future in which people of all faiths and backgrounds live together in peace and prosperity."

Trump now frequently takes credit for the Abraham Accords and has said he believes it would be the key to pressuring Palestinians into brokering a peace deal to support his claims that he would have prevented the war.

Also, during his presidency, Trump moved the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem -- a controversial move signaling that the U.S. was officially recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel, despite Palestinian claims to the land.

However, the relationship soured in the aftermath of the 2020 election. The former president famously grew irate with Netanyahu, who was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Biden on his 2020 electoral victory as Trump was still contesting the results of the election.

Using expletive-filled language, Trump argued in the aftermath of the 2020 election that he felt betrayed by Netanyahu, who he felt he strongly supported during his presidency.

"Bibi could have stayed quiet. He has made a terrible mistake," Trump said to journalist Barak Ravid.

In recent months, Trump has also blamed Netanyahu for the conflicts that are taking place in the Middle East, telling Time magazine in April that the Oct. 7 attack on Israel "happened on his watch."

However, with a potential second term on the horizon, Trump is seemingly putting aside personal differences by agreeing to the meeting as he pushes for an end to the international conflict.

Asked about their relationship on Friday, Trump said "we've had a good relationship."

Earlier this week, Trump, while touting his meeting with Netanyahu, attempted to strike a balance: he posted on his social media what appears to be a letter from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wishing him well after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Posting the letter on his social media platform, Trump wrote, "Looking forward to seeing Bibi Netanyahu on Friday, and even more forward to achieving Peace in the Middle East! DJT"

The letter, signed by Abbas and dated July 14, the day after the assassination attempt, expresses concern for Trump and then condemns the violence that took place that day, stressing the importance of resolving "differences" through "communication and freedom of expression."

"Our thoughts are also with the families of those who lost their life and were injured," the letter continues, concluding with, "Wishing you strength and safety."

Trump wrote on the letter, "Mahmoud – so nice – thank you – everything will be good. Best wishes."