U.S. President Joe Biden plans to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Thursday afternoon, Jerusalem’s Prime Minister’s Office announced on Tuesday.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Monday that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will likely attend the meeting.
It will mark the first time Biden has hosted Netanyahu at the White House since the longtime Israeli premier returned to office following the Jewish state’s November 2022 election.
The two leaders met in September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Netanyahu is also scheduled to meet on Thursday with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden has endorsed for the Democratic nomination.
Former U.S. president Donald Trump plans to host Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., on Friday, the Republican presidential candidate said on Tuesday.
“Looking forward to welcoming Bibi Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago,” Trump stated. “During my first term, we had peace and stability in the region, even signing the historic Abraham Accords, and we will have it again,” he added.
“Just as I have said in discussions with [Ukraine’s] President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and other world leaders in recent weeks, my peace through strength agenda will demonstrate to the world that these horrible, deadly wars and violent conflicts must end,” he continued, adding, “millions are dying and Kamala Harris is in no way capable of stopping it.”
Netanyahu arrived in Washington on Monday, seeking to solidify bipartisan support following Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 election and amid ongoing conflicts on the Jewish state’s borders.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress during which he intends to present a “new way” of dealing with the Iranian threat and highlight Jerusalem’s efforts to achieve victory over Hamas, according to an Israeli official familiar with the plans.
