Biden will reportedly invite Netanyahu to Washington in September
U.S. President Joe Biden will reportedly invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House in September, according to the Israeli news outlet Yedioth Ahronoth.
If the meeting comes to fruition, it will be Netanyahu’s first official visit to Washington since winning the Israeli election in late 2022. Relations between the Biden and Netanyahu administrations have been tense in recent months due to sharp disagreements on the Israeli judicial overhaul controversy.
In addition, the Biden administration has also criticized the Netanyahu government's plans to expand Jewish communities in the disputed territories.
In May, White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby told reporters he expected an official visit by Netanyahu to the White House to take place.
"Israeli leaders have a long tradition of visiting Washington. President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu have known each other for a long, long time. I expect the prime minister will visit at some point," Kirby stated at the time.
However, sharp policy disagreements between Washington and Jerusalem have resulted in the postponement of the visit.
In July, after four months of disconnect, during a phone conversation between the two leaders, Biden finally invited Netanyahu to meet.
While both the U.S. and Israel have confirmed Netanyahu’s upcoming visit, it is still unclear where and when it will take place.
The prime minister has insisted that the meeting will happen in the Oval Office, however, Biden administration officials have toned down the visit, claiming that the details are not yet finalized.
“We still anticipate that the president will meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu sometime in the latter part of this year in the fall, and [that] it’ll be somewhere in the United States,” senior White House official Kirby recently told reporters.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
