(WASHINGTON) — As shockwaves from a spate of unprecedented twists in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election continue to reverberate throughout the country, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will attempt to push past the political noise as he makes his long-awaited visit to Washington, D.C., this week.
Amid the tumult, Netanyahu will deliver an address to a joint meeting of Congress at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. He will also meet with President Joe Biden on Thursday afternoon, according to the prime minister’s office and the White House.
Biden’s exit from the reelection race has also raised questions about how much sway his administration will have over the Israeli government going forward, potentially complicating efforts to coax its leadership into accepting the terms of a cease-fire agreement with Hamas and ending the conflict in Gaza.
The prime minister is also expected to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris, according to administration officials, but Harris — the president of the Senate — is not expected to attend his speech on Capitol Hill. Harris, who has now secured commitments from enough Democratic delegates to be the presumptive nominee if the delegates make good on their commitments, is scheduled to campaign in Indianapolis instead, according to her campaign. The prime minister’s office said Netanyahu would meet with the vice president on Thursday.
Additionally, Netanyahu is set to meet with former President Donald Trump, but the two don’t appear to have settled on a date yet. The Republican nominee for the White House announced they would meet at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, while Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that “the only possibility to meet with Donald Trump is on Friday.”
Here are the storylines to watch.
Playing politics?
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is also set to meet with Netanyahu, has already slammed Harris for skipping out on the prime minister’s speech, calling it “outrageous” and describing it as a calculated political decision.
“America’s relationship with Israel has always been bipartisan, and it should stay that way,” Johnson said during a press conference.
“Madam Vice President, you say you want to be the leader of the free world and yet you can’t bring yourself to sit behind our most important strategic ally in this moment,” he said. “That is not a good look for you. It’s not a good look for America. And it’s not a good look for her party that she aims to lead.”
Every interaction — or lack of interaction — between Netanyahu and Harris is bound to face similarly intense scrutiny. So far, the two have had relatively limited direct interaction. They met at least once before — in 2017, when Harris was a senator — and spoke by phone in 2021, according to a readout from the White House.
Harris thanks Biden as she receives growing chorus of endorsements
The Biden administration’s handling of Gaza is likely to be a contentious topic for Harris on the campaign trail. While Harris echoed the president’s support of Israel’s right to defend itself in the early months of the conflict, she began to publicly express more criticism by the end of 2023 — calling on Israeli forces to do more to prevent civilian suffering.
A face-to-face with Netanyahu would be an opportunity for Harris to set the tone for how she might approach the conflict if she were to win the nomination for the presidency.
Daniel Byman, a former Middle East analyst for the U.S. intelligence community and a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says the dynamics of the race will also add pressure on Netanyahu.
“It’s unclear how much her positions will vary from Biden’s, and Netanyahu will want to shape those for obvious reasons,” he told ABC News.
Before departing for the U.S. on Monday morning, Netanyahu said “our enemies must know that Israel and the United States stand together tomorrow and always” — no matter who wins the White House.
But while the prime minister is trying to signal neutrality, the person sitting behind the Resolute desk undoubtedly impacts the alliance between the two countries.
Netanyahu and Biden have been friends for more than four decades, but their relationship has grown rockier in recent months as the leaders have clashed over Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
Trump on Tuesday said he would host Netanyahu at his Florida club on Thursday.
“Just as I have said in discussion with [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelenksy and other World Leaders in recent weeks, my PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH Agenda will demonstrate to the World that these horrible, deadly Wars, and violent Conflicts must end,” Trump claimed on his social media platform, Truth Social. “Millions are dying, and Kamala Harris is in no way capable of stopping it.”
In recent weeks, there have been indications that the prime minister is trying to boost his standing with the Republican presidential candidate.
Netanyahu was one of the first world leaders to issue a statement condemning the assassination attempt against Trump. The former president later reposted it.
Deal in the balance
While the drama of American politics plays out, conditions in Gaza remain exceedingly grim.
Authorities believe dozens of hostages are still in the Gaza Strip, their lives hanging in the balance. On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed the deaths of two more detainees, underscoring the urgency of the situation.
More than a month and a half after Biden outlined the contours of a deal that would free the hostages in exchange for an extended cease-fire in Gaza, negotiations in Cairo appear to be picking up again.
Netanyahu and top officials in his government have publicly scorned some conditions of Biden’s proposal, but U.S. officials adamantly say the prime minister is willing to uphold the terms of the deal if an agreement is reached.
However, they say the sticking points have shifted from the duration of a cease-fire to operational control over parts of Gaza, including the Philadelphi Corridor — a narrow strip of land separating Gaza from Egypt.
Negotiators are attempting to devise a security system that would appease Israel, but Netanyahu is reluctant to withdraw troops, an official familiar with the talks said.
While the prime minister is in Washington, members of the administration hope to persuade him to accept terms that they believe Hamas may also find tolerable, as well as encourage specific steps to create a path toward a two-state solution, according to a U.S. official.
Byman believes a deal is still possible, but that Netanyahu may see a second Trump administration as conducive to more favorable terms.
“If Netanyahu and Israel can persist for the coming months, they’ll get a better deal than if they make concessions to the Biden administration,” he said.
Courting Congress — and the public
Netanyahu’s speech will offer the prime minister an opportunity to try to rebound his own poll numbers, which have been in steady decline.
“He’s fighting for his political life,” Byman said. “And so he’s trying to say to his own people, look — I can go to the United States, to the president and congressional leaders, and therefore I am a leader who can deliver for Israel diplomatically.”
Netanyahu hasn’t shied away from diving into American domestic politics in the past. But Ruth Wasserman Lande, a moderate Israeli politician and former member of the Knesset, says the prime minister should stress the threat that terror in the Middle East poses to the U.S., a message she said should be unifying — and concerning — to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
“It’s not a right or left issue. It’s not a Republican or Democratic issue,” she said. “This is something that the Americans must understand because it’s not going to stop here. It’s going to get to America.”
ABC News’ Lauren Peller contributed to this report.
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