Netanyahu To Meet Biden Amid Concerns Over Israel’s Future (Worthy News Focus)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House as Israel prepares for a possible all-out war with Lebanon-based Hezbollah and faces ongoing military challenges in Gaza to crush Hamas and threats from other nations.
Several Israeli sources confirm that the two leaders are due to meet on Monday, July 22, just two days before Netanyahu addresses the U.S. Congress.
It comes at a sensitive time amid mounting pressure on Israel to end its war against Hamas and delays in American delivery of ammunition.
“The president has known Prime Minister Netanyahu for three decades. They will likely see each other when the prime minister is here over the course of that week, but we have nothing to announce at this time,” the White House told Israeli media.
The meeting will mark the first time Biden hosts Netanyahu at the White House since the Israeli leader returned to office following the 2022 election.
“The president has known Prime Minister Netanyahu for three decades. They will likely see each other when the prime minister is here over the course of that week, but we have nothing to announce at this time,” a White House official told Israeli media.
They last met in October when Biden was in Israel following the Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people and saw about 250 others being kidnapped.
SITTING ON SIDELINES
They also met in the U.S. two weeks before the attack, but the Biden administration chose to hold the sit-down on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and not at the White House.
The upcoming talks come amid mounting frustration in Israel about delays in American weapon deliveries at a time when it faces multiple threats.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other officials from his office managed to smooth some of the disagreements during visits to Washington in late June, with Washington now releasing some 1,700 500-pound bombs.
Last month, Netanyahu publicly accused the U.S. of adopting a broader policy of withholding military aid to Israel while the Jewish nation fights for its existence.
In a video, Netanyahu implied the holdup was slowing Israel’s offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
His comments infuriated the Biden administration and set back efforts to at least partially release the withheld shipment of high-payload bombs, according to an Israeli official.
However, the Biden administration still refuses to unlock about 1,800 of the 2,000-pound bombs promised to Israel, with U.S. officials citing concerns their use could harm civilians.
ELECTION PRESSURES
The refusal comes in an election year when President Biden faces calls from within the Democratic Party to pressure Israel to end its war against Hamas.
The nine-month armed conflict has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Israel counters that at least 14,000-15,000 of those killed are fighters of Hamas, designated as “terrorists.”
While there are still many victims, Israel says this is not “genocide” on a population of 2.3 million people and can’t be compared to the bombing of the German city of Dresden during World War Two.
It also has accused Hamas of hiding among civilians, making it more difficult to avoid civilian causalities.
In talks with the president and his speech to Congress next week, Netanyahu was due to plea for more support for his Jewish nation as it faces several fronts and a possible broader regional conflict.
Hezbollah, a close ally of Gaza, has stepped up attacks against Israel while the nation also faces attacks from Iran and its proxies, including in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.
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