Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address the United Nations General Assembly during its annual session in September, Israel Hayom reported on Monday.
The exact date of the address has not been set, but it will likely take place during the week between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Being in New York might present an opportunity for Netanyahu to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden, who has refused to invite the Israeli leader for a traditional White House visit.
Biden sharply criticized Netanyahu’s coalition in a CNN interview with Fareed Zakaria on July 7, calling it “one of the most extreme” Israeli governments he’s ever seen.
Biden blamed Israel’s government for exacerbating tensions with the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, “particularly those individuals in the Cabinet who say, ‘We can settle anywhere we want.’
“And I think we were talking with them regularly, trying to tamp down what’s going on and hopefully, Bibi will continue to move towards moderation and change,” Biden said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.
Biden has criticized Israel’s government previously, expressing hope that Netanyahu “walks away from” his effort to reform the country’s judicial system.
In May, it was reported that the Biden administration even demanded that Israel shelve its judicial reform plans in exchange for American support for a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia.
The American president deflected a question as to whether he would host Netanyahu in Washington, saying only that Israeli President Isaac Herzog was coming soon.
