President Biden is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House Thursday — a day after Netanyahu urged Congress in a joint address to continue to stand with Israel in the war against Hamas.
The meeting is Mr. Biden’s first with a foreign leader since he exited the race for the presidency Sunday and threw his support to Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination. Harris will be meeting with Netanyahu separately later Thursday, the White House said.
The vice president did not attend Netanyahu’s speech, citing previously scheduled travel. She’s in Texas Thursday morning, addressing the American Federation of Teachers. A number of Democrats in Congress declined to attend Netanyahu’s congressional address, a gesture of disapproval toward Netanyahu’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
As Netanyahu spoke, pro-Palestine protesters swarmed Union Station near the Capitol. Protesters removed the American flags that fly over Union Station, replacing them with Palestinian flags.
Jose Luis Magana / AP
In his address to Congress, Netanyahu attacked pro-Palestinian protesters in the U.S., calling them “Iran’s useful idiots.”
“Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming, ‘Gays for Gaza,’” Netanyahu said. “They might as well hold up signs saying, ‘Chickens for KFC.’ These protesters chant, ‘From the river to the sea,’ but many don’t have a clue what river and what sea they’re talking about.”
Netanyahu’s visit comes as work continues on a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. He is facing a growing backlash at home over his handling of the war with Hamas. The families of hostages held in Gaza have been calling on Netanyahu to make a deal to bring back their loved ones. There have been daily protests in Jerusalem, and a group of top former Israeli security and political officials also sent a blistering letter to U.S. congressional leaders this week, accusing Netanyahu of prioritizing his own political survival over that of the hostages, Israel’s security, as well as the region.
Mr. Biden and Netanyahu are expected to talk “in depth about developments in Gaza and the negotiations on the ceasefire and hostage release deal,” a senior administration official told reporters. The official said the administration believes talks are in “the closing stages and “reaching the point that we believe a deal is closable, and it’s time to move to close that agreement.”
Mr. Biden and Netanyahu will also discuss the “humanitarian situation in Lebanon, West Bank, everything that the president and the prime minister often discuss when they have their many phone calls,” the senior administration official said.
The two leaders will then meet with the families of Americans held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. Administration officials regularly meet with this particular group of families, the senior administration official said.
This will be the first time Mr. Biden and Netanyahu will be seeing each other in person since the president visited Israel in October, in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel.