Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Joe Biden in Washington on Tuesday, his office announced on Sunday.
A statement issued by Netanyahu's office said: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday at noon.”
Netanyahu will address the U.S. Congress on Wednesday as he fights intense pressure to quickly end the Gaza war ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, will become the first foreign leader to address the joint session of the two chambers four times – three points ahead of British President Winston Churchill.
But analysts say the war in Gaza has created worrying tensions between Israel and the United States, its main military and diplomatic backer, after the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
Washington fears a backlash from civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip, while protests in Israel by families of hostages taken by Hamas are also causing headaches for Netanyahu.
Biden and some Israeli ministers say that an agreement made through Qatar, Egypt and American mediators is possible. The plan, drawn up in May, proposed a six-week ceasefire in which some Israeli hostages would be exchanged for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Friday that negotiators are “inside the 10-yard line and moving toward the goal line.”
Hamas has accused Netanyahu of seeking to block the deal, and Blinken said he wants to “take the deal to the finish line” while Netanyahu is in Washington.
The expected meeting between Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden has not yet been confirmed.
Israel has intensified its airstrikes on Gaza in recent weeks, and Netanyahu has emphasized that only military pressure can free the hostages and defeat Hamas.
“This double pressure is not delaying the agreement, it is advancing it,” Netanyahu told a gathering of Gaza soldiers on Thursday.
The October 7 attack on Israel killed 1,195 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP report based on Israeli figures. Hamas militants also took 251 hostages, 116 of whom are still in Gaza, including 42 killed, according to the Israeli military.
Israel's retaliatory campaign killed at least 38,919 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to health ministry data in the Hamas-controlled territory.
Biden has publicly declared his strong support for Israel. But he expressed concern over the attack on the southern city of Rafah in May and temporarily suspended the delivery of heavy bombs to Israel. The supply of 2,000-pound bombs remains embargoed.
“The atmosphere has never been more turbulent,” said Steven Cook, a Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.
“There is clearly tension in the relationship, particularly between the White House and the Israeli prime minister,” Cook said in a commentary.
While US Republicans have been pushing to invite Netanyahu to address Congress, he has lost support from Democrats.
A Jewish senator, Brian Schatz, Democrat of Hawaii, announced he would boycott Wednesday's speech, saying he would not listen to “political rhetoric that does nothing to help peace in the region.”
Netanyahu told Congress after being called back that he would “present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us.”
Kook said that Netanyahu has two goals for his visit to Washington.
First, to demonstrate that he has not “weakened” Israel's relationship with the United States.
Netanyahu will also try to shift the conversation from the conflict in Gaza to the threat Iran and its proxies pose to Israel and the United States, Cook added.
Much attention will be paid to whether Netanyahu meets with Donald Trump or a figure close to the Republican presidential candidate.
Despite the tensions, the United States has defended Israel's interests and played a key role in mediation efforts, and military ties remain strong, officials said.
Washington's support could be crucial as Israel faces growing international criticism for mounting human toll from nearly 300 days of fighting.
In May, the ICC prosecutor asked judges to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant. Three Hamas leaders have also been sentenced.
The majority of the Republicans in the House of Representatives have demanded to sanction the International Criminal Court.
The International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories illegal on July 19, and in February called on the country to refrain from any genocidal action in its attack on Gaza.
