The White House is scheduled to inform Israel Tuesday about the timing of the anticipated meeting between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
While initial preparations point to next week for the summit, final confirmation from the American side remains pending, with the possibility of the meeting taking place the following week.
The upcoming summit will see both leaders establishing core policy directives between the new administration and the Israeli government that will shape relations in the months ahead. Priority issues include the Iranian nuclear situation, prospects for Israeli-Saudi peace, the Gaza Strip crisis, and the interconnections between these critical matters.
A senior Israeli diplomatic source with direct knowledge indicates that discussions about voluntary migration from Gaza remain at the conceptual stage. The initiative was first raised during early meetings between Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Trump following the November election victory, with the White House now exploring potential approaches and ways to convince prospective countries to accept Gaza residents. However, no concrete or mutually agreed-upon plan has emerged.
Prime Minister Edi Rama forcefully dismissed claims about Albania's potential role in resettling Palestinians from Gaza, calling such reports "absolutely untrue" and emphasizing that no one has approached Albania about such an initiative.
"I haven't heard something so false in a long time – and there's been plenty of fake news recently! This is absolutely untrue," Rama stated in his response to the reports that Trump wanted to have the Balkan country accept relocated Gazans permanently. Trump made similar calls on Arab states, including Jordan and Egypt.
While expressing "full respect and solidarity" for Gaza's residents, who he said have "suffered greatly due to the violent Hamas regime" and endured war following October 7, Rama emphasized that Albania has not been approached about intervention and cannot take on such responsibility.
The Albanian leader highlighted his country's strong relationships across the Middle East, including with Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and the Palestinian people, whose state Albania recognized years ago. However, he stressed Albania's European identity as a limiting factor.
"Albania is not located in the Middle East, and as a country in the heart of Europe, we cannot do more than any other European country on this matter," Rama explained.
