One day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged continued unity and support between Israel and the United States in his address to Congress, President Joe Biden met with Netanyahu Thursday to discuss possible steps towards a cease-fire in Gaza and a hostage release deal.
Thursday marks Biden’s first meeting with a foreign leader since he announced he will not seek reelection, CBS News reported, and Netanyahu’s first visit to the Capitol in nearly four years. “From a proud Jew 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. And I look forward to discussing with you today and working with you in the months ahead,” Netanyahu told Biden ahead of their meeting, according to a White House pool reporter.
Biden and Netanyahu also reportedly met with the families of Americans held hostage by Hamas, who said the two leaders’ discussion was “productive and honest,” The Associated Press reported.
“There was a lot on the agenda, but first and foremost will be discussing how deeply and how strongly the president feels, we feel, that we’ve got to get this hostage deal in place so we can get a cease-fire also in place,” White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said during a press conference. “Today is the 293rd day that these hostages have been held captive by Hamas ... there ought not to be a 294th, and we’re going to keep working on that,” he said.
Biden and Netanyahu’s meeting lasted for about an hour and a half, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office, per ABC News.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who did not attend Netanyahu’s Wednesday address due to a pre-scheduled event in Indianapolis, a decision criticized by Utah’s representatives, met separately with the Israeli prime minister later on Thursday, per the White House. Netanyahu is also slated to meet with former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.
Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, D.C., has been both rebuked and praised, as some members of Congress stood to applaud Netanyahu every two minutes during his nearly 52-minute-long address while protests calling for a cease-fire in Gaza took place throughout the nation’s capital.
Harris released a statement on July 25 regarding the protests at Union Station in Washington, D.C., condemning the “despicable acts by unpatriotic protestors and dangerous hate-fueled rhetoric,” after protesters removed then burned an American flag, defaced monuments and attacked law enforcement officers.
Harris meets with Netanyahu
In a separate meeting in the vice president’s ceremonial office at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Harris and Netanyahu’s discussion also focused on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“We have a lot to talk about,” Harris said as she welcomed the Israeli leader. “We do indeed,” Netanyahu replied. Their meeting reportedly lasted 40 minutes.
Afterwards, Harris spoke to reporters about her meeting with the prime minister. Harris called her meeting with Netanyahu, “frank and constructive,” and said, “I will always ensure that Israel is able to defend itself, including from Iran and Iran-backed militias.”
The vice president said that she has met with family members of the American hostages “multiple times now,” and that she and President Biden are “working everyday to bring them home.”
Harris said she expressed her “serious concern” to Netanyahu regarding the “scale of human suffering in Gaza” and the “dire humanitarian situation there.”
“We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering and I will not be silent,” she said.
Harris said there is a cease-fire and hostage deal on the table. “It is time for this war to end, and end in a way where Israel is secure, all the hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity and self-determination. There has been hopeful movement in the talks to secure an agreement on this deal,” she said.
Netanyahu’s bilateral meetings with Biden and Harris come less than a day after Biden’s Oval Office address, during which Biden outlined his top priorities for the last months of his presidency — one of them being to help end the Israel-Hamas conflict. “I’m going to keep working to end the war in Gaza, bring home all the hostages, and bring peace and security to the Middle East and end this war,” Biden said.
