(AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House for separate meetings Thursday with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on a Gaza ceasefire deal, reflecting the upended political situation in Washington.
The meetings come after Netanyahu vowed “total victory” against Hamas in a fiery speech Wednesday to the US Congress, and just days after Biden announced his shock exit from the 2024 White House race.
Relations between Biden and Netanyahu are tense over Israel’s conduct in the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attacks, despite the US president’s continued military and political support.
While Biden says he wants to secure a truce and hostage release deal in his last six months in office, Netanyahu may be tempted to wait until after his lame-duck presidency and to negotiate with his successor instead.
As part of his first White House visit during Biden’s presidency, Netanyahu will hold talks with the US leader in the Oval Office at 1:00 pm local time (1700 GMT), and both will later meet the families of US hostages held in Gaza.
In a primetime speech explaining his decision on Sunday to bow out of the US presidential election, Biden made clear that the conflict would remain a top priority.
“I’m going to keep working to end the war on Gaza, bring home all the hostages to bring peace and security to the Middle East and end this war,” the US president said.
A senior US administration official said Wednesday that negotiations on a Gaza deal were in the “closing stages” and that Biden would try to close some “final gaps” with Netanyahu.
– ‘Closing stages’ –
“A deal is closeable,” the US official said on condition of anonymity, adding there would be a “lot of activity in the coming week.”
The US official played down Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, which sparked rowdy protests outside.
A possible truce now hinges on a handful of issues about how it would come into effect, with Hamas having eased its demand for a full Israeli pull-out from the Gaza Strip, the official said.
“I don’t expect the meeting (with Netanyahu) to be a yes or no, it’s a kind of like ‘how do we close these final gaps?’ And there are some things we need from the Israeli side, no question,” the official said.
“But there’s also some key things that are only in the hands of Hamas because the hostages are in the hands of Hamas.”
In a sign that the world may already be moving on without Biden, Netanyahu is set to meet separately with Harris at 4:30 pm (2030 GMT).
Harris has previously been more outspoken about Israel’s conduct of the war, prompting speculation she will shift her policy as presidential nominee.
“There will obviously be no daylight between the president and vice president,” the senior US administration official said, however.
Netanyahu will meet Republican contender Donald Trump on Friday at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
The ex-president on Thursday morning urged Israel to quickly “finish up” its war in Gaza, warning its global image was being tarnished.
“You have to end this fast. It can’t continue to go on like this. It’s too long. It’s too much,” he told Fox News.
Biden has offered Israel steadfast support since October 7, even hugging Netanyahu at Tel Aviv airport when he visited just days after the attacks on Israel.
But the US president has been increasingly critical of Israel over the Palestinian death toll in its offensive in Gaza, and criticized restrictions on the amount of aid getting through to the territory, much of which has been reduced to rubble.
The US president unveiled a ceasefire plan in May, but negotiations between Israel and Hamas have been torturous, and Israel’s assault on the enclave has continued.
Washington has also continued its massive military support for Israel.
The Hamas attack on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Out of 251 people taken hostage that day, 111 are still being held inside the Gaza Strip, including 39 who the military says are dead.
Israel’s withering military offensive on Gaza has killed more than 39,175 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to data provided by the health ministry of the Hamas-run territory.
– Danny KEMP
© 2024 AFP
