Trump says he’s not planning to stop in Israel on next week’s Mideast trip
US president says he’ll visit Jewish state ‘at some point,’ teases ‘very, very, very big announcement’ that will be made before he leaves for trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he doesn’t plan to stop in Israel during his trip to the Middle East next week.
“We’re not planning on stopping in Israel. We will be doing it at some point, but not [on] this trip,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during the ceremonial swear-in of Steve Witkoff as his special envoy to the Mideast.
Trump will depart for Saudi Arabia on Monday before making stops in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He is slated to return on Friday, May 16.
Earlier Tuesday, the Axios news site reported that Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter recently proposed to the White House that Trump add a short stop in Israel during his Mideast trip.
Speaking to reporters earlier Tuesday during his Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump said he plans to make a major announcement in the coming days before his departure for the Middle East, but he declined to say what the topic would be about.
Trump said he had a “very, very, very big announcement to make.. like as big as it gets… it’s really positive” and will come Thursday, Friday or Monday.
Congratulations to @SteveWitkoff, who was officially sworn in as Special Envoy to the Middle East today!
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) May 6, 2025
Separately on Tuesday, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said, “An important announcement regarding the entry of aid to Gaza will be issued in the next few days, and there is very good news.”
A source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel that the announcement will be about the establishment of a new international foundation that will help manage the resumption of aid into Gaza.
However, the source said there is still significant planning that hasn’t been finalized.
The heads of the UN and international organizations currently operating in Gaza issued a joint statement earlier this week, asserting that they won’t cooperate with this new Israeli initiative, arguing that it doesn’t adequately address the humanitarian crisis and “weaponizes” aid at the expense of civilians.
???? @POTUS says he will have a "very, very big announcement to make" before he departs for the Middle East: "It'll be one of the most important announcements that has been made in many years about a certain subject." pic.twitter.com/g0NFO70uW1
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 6, 2025
Without cooperation from at least some of the international organizations currently operating in Gaza, it will likely be difficult for the plan to succeed.
Aiming to coordinate and be looped in on what is planned for Trump’s trip to the region, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer departed on Tuesday for Washington, where he will meet with top US officials on Wednesday.
Items on the agenda include the still-stuck hostage talks, Israel’s pending expansion of its military operations in Gaza and the Iranian nuclear negotiations, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel.
The security cabinet on Sunday approved a plan for the IDF to gradually reoccupy the entire Gaza Strip and to hold on to the territory indefinitely. However, it is waiting to launch the operation until after Trump wraps up his trip, hoping that Hamas can be coaxed into releasing additional hostages while the US president is in the region.
The terror group has offered to release all remaining 59 captives, but is demanding a permanent end to the war in exchange, something that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuses, as it leaves Hamas in power.
The Times of Israel Community.