JERUSALEM, Israel — A meeting scheduled for Tuesday between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris has been postponed until Thursday.
These key meetings are now scheduled for the day after Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress.
While departing Israel, Netanyahu said he wanted to emphasise the ties between the two countries.
He said, “In this time of war and uncertainty, it is vital that Israel’s enemies know that the United States and Israel stand together today, tomorrow, and always.”
In Washington, the Prime Minister met the families of some of those held hostage by Hamas.
He told them, “We are determined to bring them all back. The conditions are ripening to bring them back, for the simple reason that we are putting very, very strong pressure on Hamas. We are seeing a definite change, and I think that change will grow. We intend to do that – it is a war objective.”
Sadly, this week the Israel Defense Forces announced that two more hostages had been killed by Hamas.
CBN News Spoke to former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman on Tuesday.
Regarding Netanyahu’s visit, he told us, “The world has not really listened to the one man whose job it is to defend the State of Israel and win this war? And that’s Prime Minister Netanyahu.”
“You know, on this very large stage, probably the largest stage in the world, what he’s trying to achieve is to really articulate the Israeli position, to explain what happened to Israel on October 7th – the trauma it had on the Jewish state, the Jewish people, the residents of Israel, how Israel did its best to minimize civilian casualties. But (at the same time), how Israel sees this as a battle for survival – that is, where victory is the only option. And I think, you know, he’s uniquely qualified to articulate that case,” Friedman said.
Netanyahu will also have to operate within a changing and volatile American political landscape.
Friedman said, “It’s a very tense time in American politics right now. And, you know, he’ll try to thread that needle in a way where he can check in — offer his best wishes, make the case for Israel; but not try to incite, you know, the kind of political reactions that we often see here right now. So it’s a tough job. It’s like threading a needle on (Capitol) Hill. But he’s very good at it. He’s done it before.”
The prime minister is also expected to meet former President Donald Trump, who is now the Republican candidate for the presidency. However, Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the presumptive Democrat candidate for the presidency, will not attend Netanyahu’s event to address lawmakers, citing schedule conflicts. As the Senate president, she usually presides over joint sessions of Congress.
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