‘’The alliance between Israel and the US has always been steadfast but, I said, I told them there and also here in Jerusalem: This alliance has become even stronger,’’ said Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the weekly cabinet meeting shortly after returning from his first meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington.

He described his meeting with Trump as a historic conversation that further strengthens the already strong alliance between Israel and the United States. ‘’A new day between the two countries.’’

The positive results of the meeting were due in part, the Prime Minister said, to the personal connection he has with Trump that goes back many years.

What cemented the tight bond, he said was the common understanding that Israel and the Trump administration have with respect to the dangers and opportunities in the Middle East.

In his remarks to the cabinet, Netanyahu also alluded to the possibility that the regional threats could help Israel normalize ties with its Arab neighbors as part of a regional peace deal that would resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“We see the possibility of trying to provide a basis for the growing regional interests that are forming between Israel, the US and countries of the region both to rebuff Iran and to develop other opportunities and normalization," he said, adding : ‘’In the end we hope to achieve peace.’’

Netanyahu and Trump aslo agreed to create a team in an area that the two countries have not previously agreed on, the settlement in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).

After the cabinet meeting, Netanyahu left for an important visit to Singapore and Australia, the first visit by an Israeli Prime Minister to these countries. ‘’We will strengthen security, economic and other ties with these countries,’’ he said.