White House declines to confirm if Biden will meet Netanyahu in D.C.
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The US National Security Advisor says Biden and Netanyahu regularly communicate.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks as he meets with President Joe Biden, on Oct. 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv. (AP)
The White House has not confirmed whether US President Joe Biden will meet with Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Washington next month to address the US Congress, Reuters reported Sunday.
"I don’t have anything to announce today," stated Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security advisor, during an interview for CBS, noting that the two regularly communicate.
Republican party leaders announced Thursday that Netanyahu will address lawmakers in the Congress on July 24.
The visit comes amid mounting pressure on the US ally to agree to a permanent ceasefire as "Israel" faces growing criticism over the rising number of civilian deaths in Gaza.
Biden last week presented what he called an Israeli three-phase plan that would end the war, release Israeli captives, and lead to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip without Hamas in power.
But Netanyahu's office stressed that the war would continue until Israel's "goals are achieved," including the destruction of Hamas.
The visit comes after Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called in March for "Israel" to hold new elections in a rare example of harsh criticism from a senior US official of the Israeli leadership's handling of the war on Gaza.
In a statement Thursday evening, Schumer said he invited Netanyahu to speak despite "clear and profound disagreements... because America's relationship with Israel is ironclad and transcends one person or prime minister."
Sullivan expressed hope that a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange deal would be secured by the time Netanyahu visits Washington.
He emphasized that Hamas only needs to say “yes” to the current proposal.
But the Head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, affirmed that the movement and the Resistance factions are dealing seriously and positively with any agreement that is based on a comprehensive ceasefire, complete withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces, and prisoner exchange.
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan criticized the Israeli occupation's response to the ceasefire proposal submitted by the Resistance on May 6, stating that it does not meet the requirements for a permanent ceasefire and full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Read more: Hamas memo: We uphold positive stance on Biden's statements
