Netanyahu’s US trip ‘overshadowed’ by Biden stepping down
We have heard from Israel’s President Isaac Hertzog, who emphasised the fact that Biden was the only US president to visit Israel during wartime. We also heard from Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant who thanked Joe Biden for his support for Israel throughout this war.
We haven’t yet heard from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who, on Monday, is expected to go to Washington and on Tuesday, meet with US President Joe Biden, then on Wednesday, address Congress.
All of this comes as there are a lot of issues domestically for Netanyahu. You even have members of his far-right government who have said that they are waiting for Trump in November because they did not see Joe Biden’s policies towards Israel’s war on Gaza as favourable.
The amount of US weapons and support that Joe Biden has given the Israelis for this war! Yet, the right wing in Israel is saying that it’s simply not enough.
But, of course, this visit by Netanyahu and the address to Congress are going to be overshadowed by this news of Biden stepping down.
Good, I hope Biden steals Netanyahu's thunder by holding his address to the nation on Wednesday :)
Israelis protest at Ben Gurion airport over Netanyahu’s visit to US
Antigovernment protesters rally at Ben Gurion airport, in Lod, Israel, on Sunday to demonstrate against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s departure to the US, where he is due to meet with US President Joe Biden and address Congress
Demonstrators say Netanyahu should not be travelling to the US before making a deal with Hamas that secures the release of Israeli captives in Gaza
Tougher tone but same stance expected by Kamala Harris towards Israel’s war on Gaza: Analysis
Kamala Harris is expected to stick largely to Joe Biden’s foreign policy on key issues such as Ukraine, China and Iran, but could adopt a tougher tone with Israel over its war on Gaza should she replace the president as the Democratic candidate.
Although as vice president, she mostly echoed Biden in firmly backing Israel, Harris has at times stepped out slightly ahead of the president in criticising Israel’s conduct in its war on Gaza, the Reuters news agency said.
In March, she bluntly criticised Israel, saying it was not doing enough to ease a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza. Later that month, she did not rule out “consequences” if Israel launched a full-scale ground invasion of Rafah city in southern Gaza where more than 1 million displaced Palestinians had sought refuge.
But analysts do not expect a big shift in US policy toward Israel.
Halie Soifer, who served as a national security adviser to Harris from 2017 to 2018, said her support of Israel has been just as strong as Biden’s. “There really has been no daylight to be found” between the two regarding Israel, Soifer told Reuters.
Much better than Trump anyway and I don't see her bear-hugging Netanyahu!
