Netanyahu to Meet Biden in DC on Tuesday

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington on Tuesday afternoon, Jerusalem confirmed on Sunday.

The Prime Minister’s Office said that Netanyahu would therefore depart for the United States on Monday morning.

Concerns had been raised that Biden’s positive test for COVID-19 might force the cancellation of the meeting, which reportedly was initially scheduled for Monday at the White House.

Netanyahu is set to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress on July 24.

The Washington meeting marks the first time Biden has hosted Netanyahu at the White House since the longtime Israeli leader returned to office following the Jewish state’s 2022 election.

The two men did meet in the U.S. in September, but Biden chose to hold the sit-down with Netanyahu on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly’s annual session in New York.

They also met in October, when Biden visited the Jewish state in the aftermath of Hamas’s massacre of 1,200 people in southern Israel.

Netanyahu will address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, at the invitation of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

The speech will mark the fourth time the Israeli premier has addressed the legislatures, more than any other foreign leader.

The invite “symbolizes the U.S. and Israel’s enduring relationship and will offer Prime Minister Netanyahu the opportunity to share the Israeli government’s vision for defending their democracy, combating terror, and establishing just and lasting peace in the region,” the four American lawmakers said.