President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Thursday. Biden hosted Netanyahu in the Oval Office for a bilateral meeting, with the two leaders meeting with families of American hostages held hostage in Gaza later in the White House Cabinet Room. The meeting was the first time the two world leaders have met in person since Biden visited Israel shortly after Hamas’ terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
Netanyahu thanked Biden for his 50 years of public service and his support of the state of Israel during a press conference at the Oval Office before the meeting: “Mr. President, we’ve known each other for 40 years and you’ve known every Israeli prime minister for 50 years from Golda Meir. So from a proud Jewish Zionist, to a proud Irish American Zionist, I want to thank you for 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the State of Israel.”
Harris later spoke with Netanyahu in the vice president’s ceremonial office in a high-stakes meeting since news broke that Harris is hoping to secure the Democratic nomination for the 2024 election, following Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race.
A senior administration official told reporters Wednesday that Biden planned to discuss his “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, the very serious threats from Iran and from Iranian proxy and terrorist groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis,” adding that the men are also expected to speak “in depth” about developments in Gaza, including efforts to reach a cease-fire agreement and the humanitarian crisis. The administration believes that a deal “is in the closing stages and it’s reaching a point that we believe a deal is closable, and it’s time to move to close that agreement.”
Netanyahu is also scheduled to meet with former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.
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