President Trump will welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House this week, with tensions between the two leaders standing in stark contrast to the priority both countries place on the bilateral relationship.

Among the top issues for the visit are maintaining a fragile ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas; taking steps toward brokering ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia; and confronting the threat from Iran.

While the first foreign invitation to the White House demonstrates the new administration’s priorities, Trump has bad-mouthed Netanyahu for years. In early January, Trump shared a video on social media with a speaker referring to Netanyahu as a “deep, dark son of a" b----.

At that time, Trump was pushing Netanyahu to sign a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas negotiated by the Biden administration. It went into effect on Jan. 19, the day before Trump’s inauguration.

But Trump’s frustration with Netanyahu stems from the Israeli leader’s recognition of former President Biden’s 2020 election win, and Israel refusing to join arms in a fatal U.S. drone strike against a top Iranian commander in January 2020.

Trump has also complained of feeling robbed of recognition for historic changes to the Middle East carried out in his first term: brokering ties between Israel and Gulf states under the banner of the Abraham Accords; moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem; and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is claimed by Syria.

Still, Trump exempted Israel from a

© The Hill