Netanyahu To Meet Biden on Thursday, Trump on Friday

He is also expected to hold a separate meeting with Vice President Harris

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with both President Biden and former President Trump during his visit to the United States.

Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that the Israeli leader would be meeting with Biden at the White House on Thursday at 1:00 pm Eastern Time. The meeting was initially scheduled for Tuesday but was pushed back as Biden has been recovering from COVID-19.

Trump initially said he would meet with Netanyahu on Thursday at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, but he later said it was pushed back to Friday at the Israeli leader’s request. “Looking forward to welcoming Bibi Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Netanyahu is also expected to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris, but a date and time haven’t been set. Harris will not be attending Netanyahu’s address to Congress on Wednesday since she will be in Indianapolis as part of her new presidential campaign, which was launched on Sunday after Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her.

Major protests are expected in Washington during Netanyahu’s address to Congress. Ahmad Abuznaid, executive director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, told BBC that the protesters will “make the statement that war criminals like Netanyahu are not welcome” in the US.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has threatened to arrest Democratic lawmakers if they protest the speech in the chamber.

“There’s a number of Democrats in the House who have said they are going to boycott the event, and then some others are gonna protest,” Johnson said. “We’re gonna have extra sergeants at arms on the floor, and if anybody gets out of hand the Speaker of the House will bang the gavel. We’re gonna arrest people if we have to do it. We’re gonna get the message out.”

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the only Palestinian American member of Congress, put out a statement calling for Netanyahu to be arrested. “Netanyahu is a war criminal committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” she said. “It is utterly disgraceful that leaders from both parties have invited him to address Congress. He should be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court.”

Netanyahu’s visit to the US comes as he has been working to sabotage the chances of a hostage and ceasefire deal with Hamas as Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza has been escalating.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.