Axios

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is coming to Washington next week to meet with President Trump and speak at the annual policy conference of AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group.

Why it matters: Beyond the official reasons for Netanyahu's trip, the embrace of Trump and other American supporters could be valuable to his political prospects. With an election only two weeks away, Netanyahu faces serious legal challenges and is behind in the polls — perhaps his most precarious electoral position in decades.

President Trump raised eyebrows on Friday with a tweet declaring that he would be withdrawing "additional large scale Sanctions" on North Korea, which he said had been announced earlier in the day by the Treasury Department. 

Between the lines: It's unclear what exactly Trump is talking about, though Treasury did announce sanctions yesterday on 2 shipping companies it said had attempted to evade North Korea sanctions. Per Fox News' John Roberts, the sanctions Trump said he is withdrawing are not in reference to the 2 shipping companies, but instead are referencing "new large-scale sanctions that were about to be announced by Treasury." White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters the decision was made because "President Trump likes Chairman Kim and he doesn’t think these sanctions will be necessary." 

Editor's note: This post has been updated with a Fox News report.

The U.S. Navy believes the service and its partners have been under a prolonged attack by Chinese hackers dedicated to improving China's military capacity, according to a recent internal review.

Why it matters: China presents a unique threat to the U.S. and its interests, as a foreign power that requires economic and political engagement despite state-sponsored acts of espionage. Bilateral relations remain on unstable ground and this offensive cyber campaign is likely to further exacerbate tensions.

Countries around the world, including Russia and U.S. allies such as France, Germany and Egypt, criticized President Trump's announcement this week that the U.S. would recognize Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights.

Why it matters: At the moment, no country — other than Israel — has backed Trump's announcement. And most countries who came out against Trump's move stressed that it was a violation of international law and multiple UN resolutions.

It was another day of diplomacy in the age of Twitter, with @realDonaldTrump tweeting: "After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!"

Why it matters: The president’s tweet calls for a change in U.S. policy toward the Golan Heights but does not actually declare it. There are many reasons for the president not to turn his tweet into policy.  It would all but eliminate what little chance exists for peace between Israel and either the Palestinians or Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia. 

The United Kingdom won't crash out of the EU on Brexit day, March 29. The European Council has given the U.K. a short Brexit extension to April 12, at which point they expect to see Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal approved by the U.K. Parliament.

What's next: In the unlikely event that May can secure parliamentary approval for her deal by April 12, the U.K. will exit the EU on or before May 22. If May cannot get that approval, she will need to return to the EU "to indicate a way forward". Any attempt to remain in the EU past May 22 is likely to require the U.K. holding EU elections on May 23.

Xi Jinping arrived in Italy today to sign a memorandum of understanding for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a development that has already drawn criticism from the U.S.

The big picture: Washington’s frustration is understandable, but it plays right into Beijing’s hand. Publicly criticizing Italy’s decision gives unwarranted weight to vague documents that, like the BRI itself, overpromise and underdeliver.

The only president Kazakhstan has known since independence is stepping aside, though not really down.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told me today in an interview in Jerusalem that the Trump administration's Middle East peace plan will be good for the Palestinians and that they should give it serious consideration.

Why it matters: The Trump administration's peace team, led by Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, has been working on the peace plan for two years. U.S officials told me there is no set date yet for the release of the plan, but that it would be sometime between the Israeli elections on April 9 and mid-June.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told me today that if Israel does not limit its ties with China, the U.S. could reduce intelligence sharing and security cooperation.

Why it matters: The U.S. has raised the topic of Chinese influence with Israel several times in the last months, but this is the most public stance that the Trump administration has taken on the issue. In the last few years, Prime Minister Netanyahu has led a diplomatic initiative to dramatically enhance trade with China. China has won several big infrastructure contracts in Israel, including one for a new sea port in Haifa — where the U.S. Navy currently operates.

White House counsel Pat Cipollone sent a letter to top House Democrats on Thursday rejecting their request for documents related to President Trump's conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Politico reports.

Details: Addressing the chairs of the House Intelligence, Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees, Cipollone argued: “The committees’ letters cite no legal authority for the proposition that another branch of the government can force the president to disclose diplomatic communications with foreign leaders or that supports forcing disclosure of the confidential internal deliberations of the president’s national security advisors."

President Trump announced in a Thursday tweet that the U.S. will recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which Israel first captured from Syria and occupied in 1967 and effectively annexed in 1981. 

Why it matters: This is a huge policy shift from the U.S. that could have repercussions for American policy towards other occupied areas in the world, like Crimea. It's also likely to infuriate Russia, an ally of the Assad regime in Syria. Trump's move is also a major boost for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his election campaign ahead of Israel's April 9 elections.