(Washington) After being received with great pomp at the American Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet on Thursday in Washington with President Joe Biden and then his Vice President Kamala Harris, who are expected to give him a less warm welcome.
Mr. Biden, who just announced he was giving up his bid for a second term, is expected to try to increase pressure on Mr. Netanyahu in the hope of reaching a cease-fire agreement in the devastating war in Gaza, which was triggered by a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
It remains to be seen whether the Israeli official, whose relations with the Democratic president are notoriously complicated, will be receptive to it, especially since Mr. Biden will leave the White House in a few months.
The US president has continued to display strong support for Israel since the start of the conflict, but he has become increasingly critical as the civilian death toll in Gaza has mounted.
The two men will meet in the Oval Office at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday, and both will then meet with the families of American hostages held in Gaza.
Agreement
In his speech the day before explaining his withdrawal from the US presidential election, Mr Biden, 81, made clear that the conflict would remain a top priority.
“I will continue to work to end the war on Gaza, bring all the hostages home, bring peace and security to the Middle East,” he said.
On Wednesday, a senior US administration official said the president would try to fill in some “final gaps” when he meets Mr Netanyahu.
Negotiations for a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the release of hostages are “nearly concluded,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
In these negotiations, “there are things that we need from the Israelis, no doubt. But there are also key elements that are only in the hands of Hamas because the hostages are in the hands of Hamas,” he continued.
Boycott
Shortly after, at 4:30 p.m. ET, Netanyahu will also meet with Vice President Kamala Harris, now the Democratic candidate for the White House. Harris was absent from the Israeli prime minister’s speech to Congress on Wednesday.
His statements on the Gaza war hint at a possible shift from Joe Biden’s policy on Israel.
While the 59-year-old former senator has never contradicted President Biden on the subject, she has repeatedly been the American official to loudly call for a ceasefire.
Mr. Netanyahu will then travel to Florida on Friday, at the invitation of Donald Trump, with whom he says he gets along wonderfully. He also thanked the former president and right-wing candidate in the November presidential election at length in his speech to elected officials in Washington.
On Thursday morning, the former president urged Israel to quickly “end” its war in Gaza, warning that its global image was being tarnished. “We have to end this quickly. This can’t go on any longer. It’s too long,” he told Fox News.
During his lengthy address to Congress, Republicans loudly applauded Mr. Netanyahu, giving him dozens of standing ovations, while more than 60 Democratic lawmakers, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, boycotted his speech.
They condemn his conduct of the war, which has resulted in tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths – 39,175 according to the latest figures from the Hamas government’s Health Ministry – and a humanitarian catastrophe.
Not far from the Capitol, thousands of demonstrators gathered to protest the visit of the Israeli leader, who was described as a “war criminal” by several signs. An American flag was burned – an “abject” act according to Kamala Harris – as was a large puppet in the image of Benjamin Netanyahu.