Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says President Donald Trump has invited him to visit the White House on Feb. 4.

US President Donald Trump has doubled down on his proposal to “clean out” Gaza by removing Palestinians living there to Jordan and Egypt, a plan which has appalled some allies but has been quickly embraced by Israel’s far right.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians returned to the northern Gaza Strip this week after checkpoints were reopened in line with the ceasefire agreement. Many will have found their homes destroyed after months of heavy fighting and bombardment – something the new US president, Donald Trump, has pointed out.

President Donald Trump sounded a defiant and confident tone on Thursday after the leaders of Egypt and Jordan stated they would not accept and resettle Palestinian refugees from Gaza.

Egypt and Jordan have both rejected the suggestion by US President Donald Trump that Gaza should be “cleaned out” and what remains of its pre-war population of 2.3 million moved to the two neighbouring countries.

The visit will make the Israeli prime minister the first foreign leader to be invited to Trump's residence since he took office last week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a potentially disastrous showdown within the next month that could shake his hold on power, unless he manages to deter the strongly held positions of the foreign and domestic politicians and political forces on which he is dependent.

In a related executive order signed this week, Trump directed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to increase capacity at the Migrant Operations Center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This is aimed at housing asylum seekers and individuals who enter the U.S. illegally before their cases are processed.

President Trump signed an executive order to build an "Iron Dome for America," modeled on Israel’s missile defense system.

President Donald Trump is expected to sign executive orders cracking down on campus antisemitism and stripping federal funds from K-12 schools that teach critical race theory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will become the first world leader to visit the White House on Tuesday when he holds meetings with President Donald Trump.