Fresh off his first address to Congress in nearly a decade, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to sit down with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Donald Trump in separate meetings later this week.
Netanyahu’s visit to the United States comes amid significant turmoil in U.S. domestic politics following both the unsuccessful assassination attempt against Trump, Biden’s decision to withdraw from the presidential race, in addition to Harris‘s emergence as his Democratic successor.
The Israeli leader will visit the White House on Thursday where he will meet with Biden and with Harris separately, according to White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.
A senior U.S. administration official told reporters that Netanyahu and Biden will discuss “the very serious threats from Iran and from Iranian proxy and terrorist groups” in the region, developments in Gaza, including on the ceasefire and hostage release proposal, and the U.S.’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.”
“We believe a deal is closable,” the official said. “It’s time to move to close that agreement.”
Netanyahu, during his address to Congress which was widely boycotted by Democrat lawmakers, thanked Biden for his continued efforts to secure the release of the roughly 100 hostages kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7 who remain in Gaza.
Biden laid out the framework for a ceasefire proposal on May 31, and U.S. officials have repeatedly indicated since then that negotiations are close but not over the finish line.
“The framework of the deal is basically there,” the official added. “We’re working out the implementation. There are some very serious implementation issues that still have to be resolved, and I don’t want to I don’t want to discount the difficulty of those, but they are the kind of implementation arrangements of the deal. There’s some things we need from Hamas and there’s some things you need from the Israeli side.”
The Israeli leader has faced domestic pressure and criticism from the families of the hostages, many of whom feel as if Netanyahu has delayed a possible deal that would secure the release of their loved ones.
The official indicated the U.S. would not hesitate to publicly criticize Netanyahu if the administration felt he was an impediment to a deal, noting, “If we draw that conclusion, we’ll say it very clearly.”
Neither Biden nor Harris was in attendance for Netanyahu’s address. Trump’s vice presidential running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), was not in attendance either.
Netanyahu praised several of Trump’s policies during his first administration and also condemned the assassination attempt against him last month.
“I also want to thank President Trump for all the things he did for Israel — from recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights … to recognizing Jerusalem as our capital and moving the American Embassy” there from Tel Aviv, he said.
During last month’s presidential debate, which effectively was the first domino to fall that resulted in the end of Biden’s reelection campaign, Trump said the president should allow Israel “to finish the job,” though in other comments has warned that Israel is losing the war of public perception.
Netanyahu is expected to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.
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Over the nine months of war, 39,000 people have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, though that number doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. Nearly the entire strip is facing the threat of famine.
Netanyahu defiantly defended Israel’s military actions in Gaza during his address, arguing that the number of civilians killed is a positive given the complexities of urban warfare and the tactics of Hamas, which include hiding and operating within and underneath civilian populations.