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[Global Times reporter Zhao Jueyun] On the 22nd local time, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu set off for Washington. Earlier that day, US President Biden decided to give up his re-election campaign. The future attitude of the United States towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has attracted much attention.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu file photo Source: Visual China

According to Reuters, before the plane took off, Netanyahu stressed that no matter who is elected as the US president, Israel will be the strongest ally of the United States in the Middle East. Netanyahu said that he thanked Biden for everything he has done for Israel throughout his career. The two will discuss ensuring the release of detained Israeli hostages, defeating the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and confronting Iran and its regional proxies. Reuters said that if Biden can recover from the new crown infection, the meeting will be held on the 23rd local time.

"In these times of war and uncertainty, it is important to let Israel's enemies know that the United States and Israel stand together today, tomorrow and forever." Netanyahu also said that he hopes to "consolidate the bipartisan support (in the U.S. Congress) that is very important to Israel." According to reports, in the speech planned to be delivered to the U.S. Congress on the 24th, Netanyahu will focus on coordinating the responses of Israel and the United States to the situation in the Middle East.

This will be Netanyahu's first visit to the United States since the outbreak of a new round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict on October 7 last year, and his fourth speech to the U.S. Congress, but he faces unprecedented turmoil. Before Netanyahu set off, Biden announced his withdrawal from this year's presidential election on the 21st local time and supported Vice President Harris as the Democratic candidate to compete with former U.S. President Trump. "This increases the risk of the situation in the Middle East, especially when the potential Democratic presidential candidate is undecided," the Associated Press said. Netanyahu is also seeking a meeting with Harris, but it is unclear whether he will meet with Trump.

US media said that during this visit, the Biden administration will seek to make progress on the ceasefire proposal and post-war plan supported by the United States. The Times of Israel analyzed that Biden still has six months to consolidate his political legacy, such as reaching an agreement to release the detained Israeli hostages and claiming that he has made a meaningful contribution to Israel's long-term security.