Axios on Friday quoted four informed sources as saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to visit the White House on Monday.

Axios speculates that if the visit goes ahead as planned, Netanyahu will be the first foreign leader to meet in person with US President Donald Trump to try to negotiate a deal to remove Trump's 17% tariffs on Israel. Trump is also expected to discuss the Iranian nuclear crisis and the war in Gaza with Netanyahu.

According to the website, "To make this visit, Netanyahu will have to ask the judges in his corruption trial to cancel the scheduled hearings during which he was expected to continue testifying, putting this plan at risk of being changed, modified, or canceled."

Israel tried to avoid the tariffs Trump imposed on nearly every country in the world by announcing that it would preemptively lift all tariffs on US products, but this did not succeed.

The 17% rate Trump set for Israel was based on the large bilateral trade deficit with the United States. Trump spoke with Netanyahu and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Thursday during Netanyahu's visit to Budapest.

The call was prompted by Hungary's decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, but Netanyahu also raised the issue of the announced new tariffs.

According to the website, "Trump suggested Netanyahu visit the White House to discuss the matter, without specifying a specific date. Hours later, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that Netanyahu would visit Washington soon, perhaps as early as next week."

Netanyahu and his team were surprised by this statement, as were some of Trump's aides.

The US State Department issued a statement on Friday saying that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had called Netanyahu and reiterated his support for Israel.

"Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reaffirm the United States' support for Israel," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement. "The Secretary discussed the situation in Gaza and the administration's resolve to free the hostages there, as well as the recently announced tariffs."