(DCWatchdog.com) – According to a senior Israeli official, President Joe Biden has not invited Israel’s newly reelected conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the White House almost five months after Netanyahu’s election victory.
Biden has failed to send Netanyahu an invitation to the White House for “a number of reasons,” the official told The Times of Israel, as cited by Breitbart News.
That is even though Israel is one of America’s top allies worldwide and the most important US ally in the Middle East.
The quoted Israeli official, whose identity was not disclosed, also remarked the US government would be better able to explain why Biden keeps giving Netanyahu the cold shoulder.
The Times of Israel also quoted officials from the US and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) saying that plans for inviting Netanyahu to their countries had been paused because of the new-old Israeli leader’s treatment of the Palestinian Arab minority.
Benjamin Netanyahu had already become Israel’s longest-serving prime minister when, in early November, he won the general election as the leader of a conservative and nationalist bloc. On December 29, 2023, he was sworn in as prime minister after previously losing power in 2021.
“[The US and the UAE] are waiting to see what unfolds on the ground during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins later this month. The Ramadan period has historically added another layer of tension between Israelis and Palestinians,” the report revealed.
In January, Netanyahu’s office told reporters the new Israeli leader would probably visit the White House in late February or early March.
Last month, Biden’s Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, went to Israel but delivered no official state visit invitation from Biden to Netanyahu.
In the same week, in early February, King Abdullah, the leader of Israel’s neighbor Jordan, was welcomed “with open arms” by President Joe Biden in the White House.
When Benjamin Netanyahu won Israel’s election in November, Biden took days to congratulate him, while he immediately congratulated Brazil’s leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on a new election victory.
In early 2021, Joe Biden waited 28 days after taking office before calling then-Israeli leader Netanyahu despite the traditionally close alliance between America and Israel.
Both delayed calls have led to speculations of “strained” relations between the two leaders.
The report of the Times of Israel quoted the same Israeli official as commenting on the new agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia – the former a US enemy and the latter a US ally – to restore their diplomatic relations.
The official blamed it on the former leftist government of Israel and the Biden administration, as it was on those two’s watch that Iran and Saudi Arabia started their talks.
“There was a feeling of American and Israeli weakness, so Saudi Arabia turned to other channels,” the Israeli official said.
What is your opinion? Should Biden invite Netanyahu to come to the White House? Share your opinion by emailing [email protected]. Thank you.
Joe Biden has failed to invite Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the White House for “a number of reasons,” an Israeli official said. https://t.co/3lPzraPNGs
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 12, 2023
