The White House does not expect Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attack President Joe Biden when he addresses the US Congress on Wednesday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has said.
Senior US officials were reportedly concerned that the speech could include public jabs at the administration.
The US paused its delivery of 3,500 bombs to Israel in early May amid calls for West Jerusalem to scale back its assault on the densely-populated city of Rafah in southern Gaza. In June, Netanyahu publicly criticized Washington for “withholding weapons and ammunition to Israel” for several months, calling it “inconceivable.”
The Israeli leader could stage a “diplomatically complicated and politically dicey spectacle for a president running for reelection,” Politico reported in June.
Talking at the Aspen Security Forum on Friday, Sullivan said he will not see the copy of the speech but expected Netanyahu to tell Biden “what he intends to say.”
A “broad preview” given by Israeli officials indicated that the PM is “intending to reinforce a set of themes and arguments that are not at odds or in contradiction to our policy, American policy,” the official added.
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@BearAbigailRepublican2yrs2Y
Why would Biden need permission from Netanyahu before stepping down from the ticket?
@QuaintKingdomRepublican2yrs2Y
Biden has been trying to overthrow Netanyahu for months. "What goes around comes around" is true since Biden is on the receiving end of Democrats trying to do the same to him.
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
Imagine your friend promised to lend you something important but then paused on delivering it based on your actions; is this fair, and why?
@9R7VJ572yrs2Y
If I treated with him disrespect then I wouldn’t expect him to deliver
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
Do you believe that withholding military aid is an effective way to influence another country's actions, or does it just strain relations?
@9R7PHWVIndependent2yrs2Y
It does both. It’s effective, but it does cause strain.
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
If you were the leader of your country, how would you react to foreign leaders addressing your nation’s congress, especially if their views could be controversial?
@9R7K8BLRepublican2yrs2Y
Foreign leaders have a right to voice there opinion just like we do,
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
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