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Israeli Prime Minister visits US and asks to meet Trump

Wang Yijun

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his visit to the United States on the 22nd and will meet with US President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris respectively. In addition, Netanyahu also requested a meeting with Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump, but has not yet received a response. After Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential election, who Netanyahu will meet during his visit to the United States has attracted public attention.

【Meet Harris】

The White House said on the 22nd that Biden, who was recuperating at home last week due to infection with the new coronavirus, will return to the White House on the same day. US officials disclosed to the media that Biden is expected to meet with Netanyahu on the 25th.

Reuters reported on the 22nd, citing an aide to Harris, that Harris will meet with Netanyahu at the White House, but not with Biden. Harris will express concern to Netanyahu about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and discuss negotiations on a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

The aide reiterated Harris' support for Israel. But according to Israel's Haaretz, Harris often plays the "good cop" in US policy toward Israel. She has repeatedly said that Israel has not done enough to reduce civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip.

Biden announced his withdrawal from the race on the 21st and supported Harris to run in the presidential election scheduled for November. The next day, Harris announced that she had received enough votes within the party to secure the Democratic presidential nomination.

The Associated Press commented that although Netanyahu said before his departure that Israel would always be an indispensable ally of the United States no matter who was elected as the US president, the Israeli government was still eager to understand Harris' policy toward Israel.

【About Trump】

The U.S. Politico reported on the 22nd, citing two sources, that Netanyahu proposed to meet with Trump during his visit to the United States, and the teams of both sides have discussed the possibility of a meeting in the past few days. If a meeting is decided, the location may be in Florida, and the time may be after Trump holds a campaign rally in North Carolina, a "swing state" in the election, on the 25th.

Trump has not yet responded to whether he will meet with Netanyahu.

According to the Times of Israel, Trump and Netanyahu were "close political allies" during his tenure, but the latter congratulated Biden on his victory after the 2020 US presidential election, which made Trump unhappy. Trump has also repeatedly accused the Israeli government of failing to prevent Hamas from launching a large-scale attack on targets in Israel last October.

Gaza's siege

During Netanyahu's visit to the United States, people in the Gaza Strip are still caught up in the war. At present, the Israeli army continues to launch offensives in the Gaza Strip, and negotiations with Hamas on a ceasefire and prisoner exchange have reached a deadlock.

Some Palestinians in the Gaza Strip told the Associated Press that as long as the United States continues to support Israel, they don't care who becomes the Democratic presidential candidate. "The United States is an accomplice of (Israel) attacking Gaza," said a Gaza civilian.

The Israeli army intensified its offensive on the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis on the 22nd, killing at least 70 people and injuring more than 200. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said on social media that thousands of people in Khan Yunis have once again fled the conflict and military operations area. The "cycle" of fear and displacement has lasted too long and the situation is "unbearable."

According to new data released by the health department of the Gaza Strip on the 22nd, since the outbreak of a new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict in October last year, Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip have killed more than 39,000 people and injured more than 89,000 people. (End) (Xinhua News Agency Special Report)