White House declines to confirm Netanyahu-Biden meeting

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
14 Sep 2023 15:42
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Israeli media highlight that the recent Israeli political debacle has created tension in the relationship between the United States and "Israel".

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting in al-Quds on August 27, 2023. (AFP)

Israeli media reported that the White House declined to confirm a reportedly scheduled meeting between US President Joe Biden and the Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York next week.

This is happening amid speculations that Netanyahu and Biden would hold discussions on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly's high-level session after Biden refused any such meeting at the White House following an in-house debate.

During a press briefing, US National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby was questioned about the possibility of such discussions actually taking place.

Commenting on this issue, Kirby said, "I have no meetings to speak to at this point."

Israeli media reports also highlighted that recent Israeli political developments have created tension in the relationship between the United States and "Israel".

Traditionally, after an election, US presidents extend invitations to Israeli prime ministers to visit the White House. However, in Prime Minister Netanyahu's case, no such invitation has been made since his return to office in late December, as per Israeli media.

Biden's decision not to extend an invitation to Netanyahu for a White House visit has to do with the tensions concerning the government's judicial reform plan and extremist statements made by members of his coalition, representing a significant diplomatic challenge for the Israeli Prime Minister.

US, 'Israel': Unprecedented volatile relations to leave permanent scar

Relations between the Israeli occupation entity and the United States continue to tank, as tensions continue to rise between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden, both of whom are facing internal political turmoils and a decline in local approval polls, Al-Monitor news website lately said in a report.

Since assuming office in 2022, Netanyahu has been unofficially barred from visiting the White House, indicating an unprecedented fracture in the alliance between "Tel Aviv" and Biden's administration.

The drift between the two governments, at its core, was due to the judicial overhaul launched by Netanyahu and his government's policies in the Occupied West Bank - which Biden sees as an unnecessary escalation and a distraction to Washington's multi-front challenges in Europe and Asia, against Russia and China respectively.

While Netanyahu and Biden held a phone call in July, where it was reported that the US President urged his ally to stop the judicial reforms process after the former announced that he was putting the legislation back on track, there was no immediate mention of a meeting, signaling that the conversation only aimed to portray ease of disputes in front of the public.

According to the report, Biden agreed to meet the Prime Minister somewhere between September 17 and 21. But while Netanyahu hopes the meeting will take place in the White House - eyeing to make it an official event - it is also possible to take place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, considerably devaluating its purpose, it was reported at the time.

"The president will meet the prime minister eventually, but Israel is not making it easy for us to schedule this meeting," a senior US official recently disclosed to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.