US President Donald Trump has invited Benjamin Netanyahu to be the first foreign official to visit the White House, marking a significant concession to a key US ally wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes.

The invitation, sent in a letter from the US president, asks the Israeli prime minister to visit on February 4 to "discuss how we can bring peace to Israel and its neighbors, and efforts to counter our shared adversaries."

"It will be my honor to host you as my first foreign leader during my second term," the letter states.

Related News

'Israel' may seek US guarantees over possible F-35 sale to Riyadh

UN adopts US-backed resolution to deploy international force in Gaza

Trump has expressed doubts about the Gaza ceasefire, saying he is "not confident" it will hold. The agreement calls for "Israel" and Hamas to negotiate a longer-term peace, but many fear renewed Israeli aggression in the strip.

Driving the news

Late last week, Trump suggested that Gaza could be "just cleaned out" and that 1.5 million people be mass expelled to other Arab countries—comments widely interpreted as endorsing ethnic cleansing.

The ICC has accused Netanyahu of "targeting civilian populations" and using "starvation as a method of warfare" during 15 months of brutal Israeli aggression on Gaza.

Over 120 ICC member states, including most of Europe, are legally obligated to arrest Netanyahu if he enters their territory. However, the US is not a party to the ICC treaty. Republicans have introduced legislation to sanction the ICC over the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Security Minister Yoav Gallant, but Democrats blocked the measure on Tuesday.

Read next: ICC braces for US sanctions over arrest warrants for 'Israel' leaders