Will Netanyahu-Trump meetup set stage for next Iran war?

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

After several nights without US strikes on Iranian targets, Israeli leaders still estimate that US President Donald Trump could soon be compelled to step up military action, according to Israeli reports. The US military has continued to send significant forces to Israel, including dozens of warplanes, refueling planes, air defenses and munitions — a similar deployment to the one that took place just before the US-Israeli war against Iran was launched in late February, according to the Kan broadcaster.

At recording time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has boarded Israel's official Wing of Zion plane. Berman rolls out what he expects will be on the agenda for tomorrow's planned Trump-Netanyahu meetup.

Netanyahu is set to attend the funeral of the late Republican senator Lindsey Graham. Yesterday, reports surfaced based on unaired footage seen by The Wall Street Journal that Netanyahu talked Graham out of convincing Trump to join Israel’s fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Berman shares other insights from the posthumously released excerpts from an upcoming documentary.

Yesterday, after a deadly Friday shootout was sparked when settlers illegally entered a Nablus-area village, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed at a cabinet meeting to expand farming outposts and operations against Palestinian “terrorist strongholds” in the West Bank. This promise was made soon after leaked reports were published of Netanyahu's March condemnation of extremist settler violence. How do these conflicting statements play on the international stage?

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

As Trump pauses Iran strikes, Israel said to believe he’ll soon be forced to escalate

Netanyahu says he’ll fly to DC for Tuesday meet with Trump, Graham memorial service; Trump confirms visit

Netanyahu talked Graham out of lobbying Trump to join war on Hezbollah – report

Netanyahu vows expanded operations against West Bank ‘terrorist strongholds’

Report: Cabinet quietly okayed plan to curb settler violence; PM called phenomenon ‘cancer’

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yitzhak Ledee filmed and edited this episode.

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