conflicts
White House: Biden-Netanyahu meeting in fall
US President Joe Biden plans to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the fall. photo
© Sergei Grits/AP/dpa
The relationship between the US President and the Israeli Prime Minister is considered tense. The planned restructuring of the judiciary in Israel is particularly worrying.
The White House has a meeting between US President Joe Biden and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised later this year. “There will be a meeting here in the United States sometime in the fall,” National Security Council communications director John Kirby said after a phone call between Biden and Netanyahu.
The fact that the two spoke to each other and want to meet should not be taken to mean that concerns about the planned restructuring of the judiciary in Israel and “extremist actions” by some members of the Netanyahu government have diminished.
The call took place the day before a meeting between Biden and Israeli leader Izchak Herzog at the White House. The reception for Herzog also highlights the tense relationship between the US President and Netanyahu. After his return to office, the prime minister has been waiting for an invitation to the White House for more than six months. Many see this as an indication that Biden is dissatisfied with the policies of Netanyahu’s right-wing religious government.
Netanyahu’s office said on the call that the prime minister had briefed Biden on a law expected to be passed next week — a reference to an important part of the judiciary overhaul that parliament will consider next week. Netanyahu’s office also mentioned possible new direct meetings between Israelis and Palestinians.