Report: Biden and Netanyahu to Meet in Washington Amid Strained Relations

By Yoni Weiss

President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu are expected to meet in Washington in a few weeks during Netanyahu’s visit to the U.S. for his speech before Congress on July 24, CNN reported Wednesday.

Officials from both countries are working out the details of the meeting, which is likely to take place at the White House, according to a source. A White House official noted that Biden has known Netanyahu for decades and stated, “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.”

U.S.-Israel relations have been strained recently due to disagreements over the conduct of the war in Gaza. Netanyahu’s claims that the U.S. is delaying arms shipments to Israel have further frustrated Washington. American officials have been trying to disprove these claims, except for one shipment. During Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s recent visit to the U.S., American officials reviewed arms shipments with him to counter Netanyahu’s statements.

Last month, Biden commented in an interview that Netanyahu might be extending the war to maintain his hold on power and mentioned it was “unclear” if Israel had committed war crimes.