2023-07-13 20:31:28
President Joe Biden will receive his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, on July 18 at the White House, his spokesperson announced Thursday, amid strained relations with the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and renewed violence between Israelis and Palestinians.
He “will emphasize the importance of the democratic values we share and the means to advance freedom, prosperity and security for Palestinians and Israelis,” Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement, adding that Joe Biden will also reaffirm Washington’s “unwavering support” for the security of Israel, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year.
The visit comes as diplomatic relations between Israel and the United States have strained, with the Biden administration repeatedly calling for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and criticizing Israeli settlement expansion under Benjamin Netanyahu.
The latter, who leads one of the most right-wing governments in Israel’s history, has not been invited to the White House since his re-election in November 2022.
Asked last weekend on CNN to find out why he had not invited Benjamin Netanyahu, the American president had replied that the Prime Minister “is trying to manage his current problems at the level of his” government coalition, one of the most “ extremes he had ever seen”.
The two leaders will also discuss “the increasingly close military ties between Russia and Iran and Tehran’s destabilizing activities in the region”, underlines the White House press release.
Isaac Herzog, who plays an essentially ceremonial role, will also address the two chambers of Congress meeting in plenary session during this visit on July 18 and 19.
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