No plans for Biden to meet Netanyahu at UN General Assembly: WH

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
24 Sep 2024 23:16

The White House confirmed there are no plans for President Biden to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu during the UN General Assembly this week.

Listen

United States President Joe Biden addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, at UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said on Tuesday that there are no plans for President Joe Biden to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week.

"There's no plans to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu here at the General Assembly," Kirby said during a press briefing.

Relations between Netanyahu and the Biden administration have allegedly deteriorated significantly in recent times, despite reports indicating the US greenlit the attack against Lebanon.

The war on Lebanon seems to have escalated beyond containment, and the prospects for a ceasefire have dwindled to nearly zero.

Last Thursday, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh stated that the US will support "defensive" but not "offensive" operations by the Israeli occupation.

"We are there in the defense of Israel, should we need to come to their defense. We’re not going in and supporting offensive ground operations in what they do, whether it be in the north or in Gaza," Singh said when asked whether the US would back an Israeli offensive into Lebanon.

Netanyahu was initially scheduled to depart on September 24, but his trip to the US was delayed by a day due to the security situation in the north, his office said last Friday.