premier's office told AFP on Tuesday. It will be Netanyahu's fifth visit to meet Trump in the US since the start of the year and comes after the prime minister said he expected the second phase  of the US-sponsored ceasefire plan for Gaza to begin soon.

"The meeting between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu will take place Monday, December 29," Shosh Bedrosian, spokeswoman for the prime minister's office, said, without providing details of the location or duration of the visit. Israel's Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu and Trump were expected to meet twice during an eight-day visit to the United States by the Israeli prime minister. It said Netanyahu would visit Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Netanyahu said on Sunday he would meet Trump later in December to discuss  "opportunities for peace" in the Middle East, with his office saying he was invited to the White House during a phone call with the president. Netanyahu also said he expected the second phase of the Gaza truce plan to begin soon. "We very shortly expect to move into the second phase, which is more difficult," he said. (Bssnews)