By ADAM GELLER and SAM MEDNICK, Associated Press

Days after his defiant speech at the United Nations rejecting demands to end the war in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to confer with his most important supporter.

But Monday’s meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington comes at a tenuous moment. Israel is increasingly isolated, losing support from many countries that were long its steadfast allies. At home, Netanyahu’s governing coalition appears more fragile than ever. And the White House is showing signs of impatience.

The question now is whether Trump, who has offered steadfast backing to Netanyahu throughout the war, will change his tone and turn up the pressure on Israel to finally wind down the conflict.

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In a post Sunday on social media, the president said: “We have a real chance for GREATNESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. ALL ARE ON BOARD FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL, FIRST TIME EVER. WE WILL GET IT DONE!!!”

Trump and Netanyahu are scheduled to meet in the Oval Office, and a joint press conference is expected later.

The uncertainty surrounding the meeting casts it as “one of the most critical” in the yearslong relationship between the two leaders, said professor Eytan Gilboa, an expert on US-Israeli relations at Bar-Ilan and Reichman universities.

“Netanyahu might have to choose between Trump and his coalition members,” a number of whom want the war to continue, Gilboa said. A move by Netanyahu to end the war would leave him on shaky political ground at home a year before elections.

Oded Ailam, a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, agreed that Trump is likely to demand a permanent ceasefire, leaving Netanyahu with few options. Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to continue the offensive until Hamas is destroyed.

Israel could seek to include ‘red lines’

If Trump puts the pressure on, the Israeli leader would probably seek to include “red lines” in any deal, Ailam said. He might demand that Hamas be dismantled, Ailam said. Netanyahu might also set a condition that if the militant group resumes fighting or returns to power, the Israeli military would have the right to operate freely in Gaza, he said.

Trump joined forces with Netanyahu during Israel’s brief war with Iran in June, ordering U.S. stealth bombers to strike three nuclear sites, and he’s supported the Israeli leader during his corruption trial, describing the case as a “witch hunt.”

But the relationship has become more tense lately. Trump was frustrated by Israel’s failed strike this month on Hamas officials in Qatar, a U.S. ally in the region that had been hosting negotiations to end the war in Gaza.

Recent comments have hinted at growing impatience from Washington. Last week, Trump vowed to prevent Israel from annexing the West Bank — an idea promoted by some of Netanyahu’s hard-line governing partners. The international community opposes annexation, saying it would destroy hopes for a two-state solution.

Michael Doran, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, dismissed the idea that Trump’s comments about the West Bank were a sign of friction. He said the remarks allowed Netanyahu to resist pressure from right-wing members of his government.

“That was a clever move by Trump,” Doran said. “It simultaneously showed responsiveness to Arab and Muslim allies while actually helping out Netanyahu.”

On Friday, Trump raised expectations for the meeting with Netanyahu, telling reporters on the White House lawn that the U.S. was “very close to a deal on Gaza.”

Trump has made similar pronouncements in the past with nothing to show for it, and it’s unclear if this time will be different.

Proposal does not include expulsion of Palestinians

Trump’s proposal to stop the war in Gaza calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages within 48 hours and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian enclave, according to three Arab officials briefed on the plan. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan has not been formally unveiled.

Hamas is believed to be holding 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed by Israel to still be alive. The militant group has demanded that Israel agree to end the war altogether and withdraw from all of Gaza as part of any permanent ceasefire.

Trump discussed the plan with Arab and Islamic leaders in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. It doesn’t include the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, which Trump appeared to endorse earlier this year.

The 21-point proposal also calls for an end to Hamas rule of Gaza as well as the disarmament of the militant group, the officials who were briefed on the plan, said. Hundreds of Palestinians, including many serving life sentences, will be released by Israel, according to the proposal.

The plan also includes the establishment of an international security force to take over law enforcement in post-war Gaza, they said.

A Palestinian committee of technocrats would oversee the civilian affairs of the strip, with power handed over later to a reformed Palestinian Authority, they said. Netanyahu has rejected any role for the authority, the internationally recognized representative of the Palestinians, in postwar Gaza.

A Hamas official said the group was briefed on the plan but has yet to receive an official offer from Egyptian and Qatari mediators. The group has repeatedly rejected laying down arms and has linked its weapons to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

Netanyahu acknowledged the U.S. plan Sunday in an interview with Fox News, saying Israeli officials were “working with President Trump’s team … and I hope we can make it a go.”

In his speech Friday at the U.N., Netanyahu praised Trump multiple times, calling him an essential partner who “understands better than any other leader that Israel and America face a common threat.”

Israel has lost much of the world’s goodwill

But apart from the U.S. leadership, Israel has lost much of the international goodwill it once could count on.

At a special session of the U.N. Security Council last week, nation after nation expressed horror at the 2023 attack by Hamas militants that killed about 1,200 people in Israel, saw 251 taken hostage and triggered the war. Then many of the representatives went on to criticize the response by Israel and call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and influx of aid.

Israel’s sweeping offensive has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run administration. Its figures are seen as a reliable estimate by the U.N. and many independent experts. The fighting has displaced 90% of the Gaza population, with an increasing number now starving.

In recent weeks, 28 Western-aligned countries that circled behind Israel two years ago have called on it to end the offensive in Gaza. They also criticized Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian aid, which have contributed to famine in parts of Gaza.

Ten countries — including Britain, France, Canada and Australia — recognized Palestinian statehood last week, hoping to revive the long-moribund peace process. Several Arab states, including some with longstanding relations with Israel, have accused it of committing genocide in Gaza, as have leading genocide scholars, U.N. experts and some Israeli and international rights groups. The U.N’s highest court is weighing genocide allegations raised by South Africa that Israel vehemently denies.

Aaron David Miller, who served as an adviser on Middle East issues to Democratic and Republican administrations, said there were too many unresolved issues to believe that an end to the conflict is near.

“The more crowing that is done about how we’re in the final stages, the more skeptical I become,” he said.

Geller reported from New York, and Mednick reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Sam Magdy in Cairo; Joseph Krauss in Ottawa, Ontario; and Chris Megerian in Washington contributed to this report.

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM, Associated Press

PROVO, Utah (AP) — The 22-year-old man charged with killing Charlie Kirk will have a court hearing Monday where he and his newly appointed legal counsel will decide whether they want a preliminary hearing where the judge will determine if there is enough evidence against him to go forward with a trial.

Prosecutors have charged Tyler Robinson with aggravated murder and plan to seek the death penalty.

In this image from video provided by Utah State Courts, Tyler James Robinson attends a virtual court hearing from prison in Utah, on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk. (Utah State Courts via AP)

The Utah state court system gives people accused of crimes an option to waive their legal right to a preliminary hearing and instead schedule an arraignment where they can enter a plea.

Kathryn Nester, the lead attorney appointed to represent Robinson, declined to comment on the case ahead of Monday’s hearing. Prosecutors at the Utah County Attorney’s Office did not respond to email and phone messages seeking comment.

The hearing in Provo is open to the public, just a few miles from the Utah Valley University campus in Orem where many students are still processing trauma from the Sept. 10 shooting and the day-and-a-half search for the suspect.

The Fourth Judicial District Courthouse is seen during the arraignment of Tyler Robinson, the man accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)

Authorities arrested Robinson when he showed up with his parents at his hometown sheriff’s office in southwest Utah, more than a three-hour drive from the site of the shooting, to turn himself in. Prosecutors have since revealed incriminating text messages and DNA evidence that they say connect Robinson to the killing.

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A note that Robinson had left for his romantic partner before the shooting said he had the opportunity to kill one of the nation’s leading conservative voices, “and I’m going to take it,” Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray told reporters before the first hearing. Gray also said that Robinson wrote in a text about Kirk to his partner: “I had enough of his hatred.”

The assassination of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who worked to steer young voters toward conservatism, has galvanized Republicans who have vowed to carry on Kirk’s mission of moving American politics further to the right.

Trump has declared Kirk a “martyr” for freedom and threatened to crack down on what he called the “radical left.”

Workers across the country have been punished or fired for speaking out about Kirk after his death, including teachers, public and private employees and media personalities — most notably Jimmy Kimmel, who had his late-night show suspended then quickly reinstated by ABC.

Kirk’s political organization, Arizona-based Turning Point USA, brought young, evangelical Christians into politics through his podcast, social media and campus events. Many prominent Republicans are filling in at the upcoming campus events Kirk was meant to attend, including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Sen. Mike Lee at Utah State University on Tuesday.

By STEPHEN GROVES and MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic and Republican congressional leaders are heading to the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday in a late effort to avoid a government shutdown, but both sides have shown hardly any willingness to budge from their entrenched positions.

If government funding legislation isn’t passed by Congress and signed by Trump on Tuesday night, many government offices across the nation will be temporarily shuttered and nonexempt federal employees will be furloughed, adding to the strain on workers and the nation’s economy.

Republicans are daring Democrats to vote against legislation that would keep government funding mostly at current levels, but Democrats have held firm. They’re using one of their few points of leverage to demand Congress take up legislation to extend health care benefits.

“The meeting is a first step, but only a first step. We need a serious negotiation,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

FILE— House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., left, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speak to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. The Democratic leaders are lashing out at a short-term spending GOP bill to avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of the month, warning Republicans they will not support a measure that doesn’t address their concerns on the soaring cost of health insurance coverage for millions of Americans. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Trump has shown little interest in entertaining Democrats’ demands on health care, even as he agreed to hold a sit-down meeting Monday with Schumer, along with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. The Republican president has said repeatedly he fully expects the government to enter a shutdown this week.

“If it has to shut down, it’ll have to shut down,” Trump said Friday. “But they’re the ones that are shutting down government.”

The Trump administration has tried to pressure Democratic lawmakers into backing away from their demands, warning that federal employees could be permanently laid off in a funding lapse.

“Chuck Schumer said a few months ago that a government shutdown would be chaotic, harmful and painful. He’s right, and that’s why we shouldn’t do it,” Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said Sunday on “Meet the Press.”

FILE— In a show of Republican unity, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., left, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., make statements to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, April 10, 2025. With a critical funding deadline looming at the end of September, Congress is charging toward a federal government shutdown, but GOP leaders said they could tee up a vote on a short-term spending bill that would keep the federal government fully operational when the new budget year begins Oct. 1. It would likely be a temporary patch, into mid-November. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Still, Democrats argued Trump’s agreement to hold a meeting shows he’s feeling the pressure to negotiate. They say that because Republicans control the White House and Congress, Americans will mostly blame them for any government shutdown.

But to hold on to their negotiating leverage, Senate Democrats will likely have to vote against a bill to temporarily extend government funding on Tuesday, just hours before a shutdown — an uncomfortable position for a party that has long denounced shutdowns as pointless and destructive.

The bill has already passed the Republican-controlled House and would keep the government funded for seven more weeks while Congress works on annual spending legislation.

Any legislation to fund the government will need support from at least 60 senators. That means that at least eight Democrats would have to vote for the short-term funding bill, because Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is expected to vote against it.

During the last potential government shutdown in March, Schumer and nine other Democrats voted to break a filibuster and allow a Republican-led funding bill to advance to a final vote. The New York Democrat faced fierce backlash from many in his own party for that decision, with some even calling for him to step down as Democratic leader.

This time, Schumer appears resolute.

“We’re hearing from the American people that they need help on health care and as for these massive layoffs, guess what? Simple one-sentence answer: They’re doing it anyway,” he said.

Democrats are pushing for an extension to Affordable Care Act tax credits that have subsidized health insurance for millions of people since the COVID-19 pandemic. The credits, which are designed to expand coverage for low- and middle-income people, are set to expire at the end of the year.

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Some Republicans are open to extending the tax credits but want changes. Thune said Sunday that the program is “desperately in need of reform” and Republicans want to address “waste, fraud and abuse.” He has pressed Democrats to vote for the funding bill and take up the debate on tax credits later.

It remains to be seen whether the White House meeting will help or hurt the chances for a resolution. Negotiations between Trump and Democratic congressional leaders have rarely gone well, and Trump has had little contact with the opposing party during his second term.

The most recent negotiation in August between Schumer and the president to speed the pace of Senate confirmation votes for administration officials ended with Trump telling Schumer to “go to hell” in a social media post.

Trump also abruptly canceled a meeting that was planned with congressional leaders last week, calling Democrats’ demands “unserious and ridiculous.”

Schumer argued that the White House coming back to reschedule a meeting for Monday showed that “they felt the heat.”

By MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Party leaders in Congress have long criticized government shutdowns as toxic and destructive.

“Always a bad idea,” former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said of shutdowns in 2024. A potential “disaster,” Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said of the shutdown the country narrowly avoided when he voted with Republicans to keep the government open in March.

“I don’t think shutdowns benefit anybody, least of all the American people,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said last week.

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Yet Congress often finds itself at the brink of one as the two major political parties’ differences grow more intractable with each passing year. Democrats are threatening to vote against keeping the government open on Oct. 1.

Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., say they won’t budge unless Republicans immediately extend health care subsidies that expire at the end of the year, among other demands. Republicans say they don’t want to add any complicated policy to their “clean” stopgap bill to keep the government open for the next seven weeks.

Time and time again, lawmakers hold out until just before the deadline and negotiate a last-minute compromise. But this time Democrats see some potential political advantages to a shutdown with their base voters spoiling for a fight.

History shows the tactic almost never works, and federal employees are caught in the middle. The White House has already laid out a plan to potentially lay off hundreds, if not thousands, of federal employees — a significant escalation from previous shutdowns in which federal workers were temporarily furloughed and given back pay when the standoff ended.

A look at some previous shutdowns and how they ended:

December 2018- January 2019

Two years into his first term, President Donald Trump led the country into its longest shutdown ever with demands that Congress give him money for a U.S.-Mexico border wall. Similar to Republican leaders today, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, refused to negotiate unless Trump, a Republican, allowed the government to reopen. Democrats had won the House majority in the 2018 election and took power in the middle of the partial shutdown.

FILE – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., center, accompanied by from left, Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Md., Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., and others, signs a deal to reopen the government on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Trump retreated after 35 days as intensifying delays at the nation’s airports and another missed payday for hundreds of thousands of federal workers brought new urgency to efforts to resolve the standoff.

January 2018

The government shut down for three days as Democrats insisted that any budget measure come with protections for young immigrants known as “Dreamers.” Trump refused to negotiate until the government reopened, and the weekend shutdown ended after McConnell, then the Senate majority leader, promised a vote on the issue.

Democrats, led by Schumer, tried to lay blame on Trump. But Republicans said that it was Democrats who “caved” in the end.

October 2013

The hard-right tea party faction of House Republicans, urged on by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, shut the government down for 16 days as they demanded that language to block implementation of President Barack Obama’s signature health care law be added to a spending bill.

FILE – Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, second left, is followed by reporters on Capitol Hill, Oct. 16, 2013, in Washington, as time grows short for Congress to prevent a threatened Treasury default and stop a partial government shutdown. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

The conflict escalated when House Republicans also blocked the needed approval for raising the amount of money the Treasury can borrow to pay U.S. bills, raising the specter of a catastrophic default. Obama, a Democrat, vowed repeatedly not to pay a “ransom” to get Congress to pass normally routine legislation.

Bipartisan negotiations in the Senate finally ended the shutdown, and Republicans did not win any major concessions on health care. “We fought the good fight. We just didn’t win,” then-House Speaker John Boehner conceded.

December 1995-January 1996

Intent on slashing the budget, Republicans led by then-Speaker Newt Gingrich forced a three-week shutdown from December 1995 to January 1996 in a bid to coerce President Bill Clinton to sign onto a balanced budget agreement. Republicans were saddled with the blame, and Clinton, a Democrat, was reelected that November.

FILE – President Bill Clinton, center, meets with House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., left, and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R- Kansas, to grapple with competing balanced budget plans, Dec. 31, 1995, at the White House in Washington (AP Photo/Greg Gibson, File)

1970s and 1980s

Under Presidents Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, and Ronald Reagan, a Republican, there were short shutdowns almost every year. The longest was in 1978, for 17 days.

A series of legal opinions issued in 1980 and 1981 made shutdowns more impactful. Then-Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti determined that failure to pass new spending bills required government functioning to shut down in whole or in part. Earlier “shutdowns” did not always entail an actual stop to government functioning and often were simply funding gaps will little real-world effect.

Associated Press writer Matthew Daly contributed to this report.