“Welcome, Mr. Prime Minister,” Kamala Harris, the U.S. vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee in November, told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as she shook his hand in her ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, part of the White House complex.
“I look forward to our conversation,” she added, standing in front of two U.S. and two Israeli flags. “We have a lot to talk about.”
The press appeared to be ushered out of the room as reporters shouted questions at the two leaders. It wasn’t immediately clear from a video feed what Netanyahu responded to Harris before the two, and their respective staff members, sat at a table.
Netanyahu’s office later said that the meeting lasted 40 minutes.
Later on Thursday, the White House released a readout of the meeting, in which it said that the vice president “reiterated her longstanding and unwavering commitment to the security of the State of Israel and the people of Israel.”
The two leaders “discussed the Biden-Harris administration’s work to ensure Israel can defend itself from threats from Iran and Iranian-backed terrorist groups, including Hamas, Lebanese Hezbollah and the Houthis, and the importance of combatting the rise in antisemitism globally,” the White House said. Harris “again condemned Hamas as a brutal terrorist organization as well as individuals associating with Hamas, noting that pro-Hamas graffiti and rhetoric is abhorrent and must not be tolerated,” the White House said.
Harris and Netanyahu “discussed developments in Gaza and the ongoing negotiations on the ceasefire and hostage release,” and Harris “echoed President Biden in expressing the need to close the remaining gaps, finalize the deal as soon as possible, bring the hostages home and reach a durable end to the war in Gaza,” the White House said.
It added that Harris “expressed concern regarding civilian casualties and discussed the need to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza” and “about actions that undermine stability and security in the West Bank, such as extremist settler violence and settlement expansion.” (The Biden administration refers to Judea and Samaria as the “West Bank.”)
Harris skipped Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday afternoon, over which she would have presided as head of the Senate. The vice president’s staff said she had a prior engagement—which turned out to be a meeting with a sorority—while critics say she rebuffed the prime minister.
“Kamala’s appearance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—after she snubbed his address to Congress—lasted a grand total of 14 seconds before the press was kicked out of the room,” wrote an account managed by the Republican National Committee.
