WarSclerotic

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the exceptionalism of US-Israel relations as he headed early Sunday morning to Washington, where he will meet with US President Donald Trump and deliver an address at AIPAC’s annual Policy Conference two weeks before Israeli elections.

Addressing reporters as he boarded his Boeing 777 en route to Washington, Netanyahu said his relationship with Trump surpassed his ties with any world leaders and with any bond between Israel and the US before.

“Never — never — has there been a relationship like this between an Israeli prime minister and an American president. It’s a very, very important asset for the State of Israel, and it is important that [this relationship] continues to serve us.”

Netanyahu traveled to Washington two weeks before Israeli voters will head to the polls on April 9, after a campaign that has seen Netanyahu tout his diplomatic successes and his close bond with Trump.

The US president enjoys high levels of support among Israelis and has been praised in Israel for recognizing Jerusalem as the country’s capital and pulling out of the 2015 international nuclear deal meant to limit Iran’s nuclear program, which Netanyahu strongly opposed.

On Thursday, Trump backed US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and his top diplomat accompanied the prime minister to the Western Wall, in moves widely expected to help Netanyahu at the polls.

The prime minister will drive the point home with his four-day Washington trip, which will feature two meetings with Trump. His main challenger, Benny Gantz of the Blue and White party, will also be in Washington for the AIPAC conference but was not invited to the White House.

Netanyahu said that Trump’s stated intention to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights would be on top of the agenda for his meetings with the president.

“I am going to talk with President Trump about the Golan, about his historic state, about Syria, about the ongoing pressure on Iran and additional sanctions on Iran, which they have added and will add, about security and intelligence cooperation that is unprecedented.”

While Netanyahu is in town, Trump is expected to sign an official US declaration recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Israeli TV reports said Friday that White House officials were currently drafting such a document.

On Thursday, Trump announced, in a tweet, that it was “time for the United States to fully recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Golan Heights,” upending decades of US policy on the matter.

Netanyahu and his delegation are due in Washington early Sunday morning, but there are no events planned for that day, according to the itinerary of the trip sent to the traveling press.

On Monday, he will conduct a “working meeting” with Trump, which will focus on “the Iranian aggression, Iran’s attempts to establish military bases in Syria, and how to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons,” according to the Prime Minister’s Office. “The two will also discuss strengthening security and intelligence cooperation.”

On Tuesday evening, Trump will host Netanyahu and his wife Sara for a second time, in the framework of a dinner. Though diplomatic protocol determines state dinners can only be given to heads of state, the dinner will still have many of the trappings of one, according to reports.

Earlier that day, at 9:30 A.M. Netanyahu is set to address some 18,000 people at the America Israel Public Affair’s Committee annual policy conference, whose motto this year is “Connected for Good.”

Many Israeli politicians and more than dozen US administration officials are also slated to speak at the three-day conference. Most notably among them are Gantz, who will address the conference on Monday, and US Vice President Mike Pence.

After his speech, Netanyahu will hold a series of political meetings on Capitol Hill, including with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. He will also meet Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and minority leader Kevin McCarthy.

Netanyahu will stay at the Blair’s House, the official White House guest residence, while in Washington.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Israeli military aircraft bombed Hamas targets in the Gaza strip early Sunday as Palestinians rioted along the border in renewed nighttime demonstrations.

The strikes came less than an hour after a rocket alarm sounded in some Israeli communities bordering the strip, triggered by an improvised bomb thrown at the border.

The Israel Defense Forces said aircraft struck two Hamas reconnaissance posts in response to “the multitude of [explosive] devices that were thrown and exploded during the night.”

There were no immediate reports of injuries from the strikes. Four Palestinians were reported injured, including one seriously, by Israeli live fire during the border riots earlier in the night.

Palestinian protesters take part in a night demonstration near the fence along the border with Israel, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 19, 2019. (SAID KHATIB / AFP)

Nighttime riots in Gaza have been led by so-called “confusion units” organized by the Hamas terror group, the Strip’s de facto ruler. On Saturday, the unit said it would step up activities, with a week of nightly riots from 7 p.m. until dawn along the border and more airborne incendiary devices launched into Israel. It said the move was in response to the deaths of two Palestinians shot by troops during border riots Friday.

During the nightly demonstrations, participants generally set off loud explosives or sounds grenades, burn tires and throw rocks at Israeli troops on the other side of the security fence.

Israeli soldiers typically respond with tear gas and, in some cases, live fire.

On Saturday, Israeli military aircraft launched a pair of strikes at Palestinian cells flying incendiary balloons from the southern Gaza Strip into Israel, the army said.

Four Palestinians were injured in the strikes.

On Friday, several thousand Palestinians took part in violent protests on the Gaza-Israel border, throwing explosive devices and rocks at Israeli soldiers who responded with tear gas and occasional live fire.

Palestinians riot on the border fence with Israel east of Gaza City on March 22, 2019. (Said Khatib/AFP)

Recent weeks have seen an uptick of incendiary balloons launched from the coastal enclave, after a drop-off in attacks following an unofficial truce between Israel and the Gaza-ruling Hamas terror group in November.

The launch of incendiary and explosive devices into Israel tied to kites and helium-filled balloons became a common tactic in violent protests along the Gaza border over the past year, burning thousands of acres of farmland and nature reserves, and killing livestock and other animals.

No Israelis have been injured by the recent balloon attacks, though damage was caused to a home in the Eshkol region last month.

This picture taken on March 22, 2019 shows a balloons carrying a make-shift drone-shaped object flying over the border with Israel east of Gaza City, after it was set loose by Palestinian protesters during a protest by the fence. (Said KHATIB / AFP)

There are fears that violence will ramp up later this month when Hamas is hoping to draw hundreds of thousands of rioters to the fence Friday to mark a year of so-called March of Return protests.

Israel says the demonstrations are orchestrated by Hamas, which vocally supports them, sending free buses to the border and providing food and internet to participants — as well as money for those injured in them — in order to provide a cover for the organization’s nefarious activities along the security fence, including infiltration attempts, the planting of explosives and attacks on Israeli soldiers.

Their organizers have said the protests aim to achieve the “return” of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to lands that are now part of Israel, and pressure the Jewish state to lift its restrictions on the movement of people and goods into and out of the coastal enclave.

Israeli officials hold that the return of Palestinian refugees and their descendants would destroy Israel’s Jewish character. They also maintain that the restrictions on movement are in place to prevent Hamas and other terrorist groups from smuggling weapons into the Strip.

The sides are said to be engaged in Egyptian mediated ceasefire talks.