Hello and welcome to NewsHour. It's coming to you live from the BBC World Service. I'm Tim Frags.

The Israeli Prime Minister, Binniemen Netanyahu, has been at the top of politics for decades.

But very shortly, we're expecting him to go into the most crucial international meeting he's ever had.

Not my verdict, but that of one of the people you're about to hear from. The meeting is with

Donald Trump in the White House. It's due to start within the next few minutes. Mr. Netanyahu

has said that being the first foreign leader to be welcomed at the start of President Trump's

second term of office shows how close the bond is between the two countries and the two men.

But the question is, is that really so?

How far are the two men's agendas in alignment?

Over Gaza, over the long-term future for the Palestinians, over the price of a possible Israeli rapprochement with Saudi Arabia

over what to do about Iran's nuclear program. In a moment, we'll get an Israeli and an American perspective.

First, Steve Wittkov, who's Mr. Trump's special envoy to the Middle East,

spoke an hour or so ago to reporters about one of the president's more controversial ideas, to move

Gazans out of Gaza while the territory is rebuilt.

In any city in the United States of America, if you had damage that was 100th of what I saw

in Gaza, and I went there at the direction of the president and the national security

advisor, nobody would be allowed to go back to their homes.

That's how dangerous it is.

There's 30,000 unexploded munitions, buildings that could tip over at any moment.

There's no utilities there whatsoever, no working water, electric, gas, nothing.

God knows what kind of disease might be festering there.

So when the president talks about cleaning it out, he talks about making it habitable.

...