US slams Israel's 5,300 new settlement units, Biden 'likely' to meet Netanyahu
President Joe Biden is reportedly likely to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when the latter travels to Washington late July to address Congress.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will likely meet with US President Joe Biden in late July, when the Israeli premier addresses a joint session of Congress.
US and Israeli officials are still working to finalize the details of the meeting, which will probably take place at the White House, reported CNN, citing an unnamed White House official. Biden has known Netanyahu for decades, said the official, adding that “they will likely see each other when the prime minister is here over the course of that week. But we have nothing to announce at this time.”
In early June, the four top party leaders of the US House and Senate from both sides invited Netanyahu to speak before a joint meeting of Congress. In a letter to the Israeli premier, the four leaders expressed their solidarity "in your struggle against terror, especially as Hamas continues to hold American and Israeli citizens captive."
The speech was first scheduled for June 13 but was postponed for religious reasons. While an ordinary day in Israel, June 13 was the second day of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot in the United States and the rest of the Diaspora. The speech was later rescheduled for July 24.
As a reminder, Biden has not invited Netanyahu to the White House since last September. In March 2023, Biden said he was not planning on hosting Netanyahu anytime soon in the White House, urging him instead to walk away from the judicial overhaul legislation his government has been advancing. Netanyahu also was furious last March over former war cabinet member Benny Gantz's trip to Washington, while he himself was not invited, Al-Monitor reported at the time.
US slams plans for settlement expansion
Confirmation of the probable meeting between Netanyahu and Biden comes against the backdrop of tensions between the Israeli government and the Biden administration over the expansion of West Bank settlements.
State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel slammed Israel on Tuesday over reports that the Israeli military Higher Planning Council for Judea and Samaria in the West Bank was set to advance plans for 5,300 new housing units. These plans also include the legalization of four West Bank wildcat outposts.
“Unilateral actions like settlement expansion and legalization of outposts, they are detrimental to a two-state solution,” Patel told reporters in Washington. “We’ll continue to use the tools at our disposal to expose and promote accountability for those who threaten peace and stability in the region." He added, “We view the expansion of settlements as and outposts as inconsistent with international law, and again, we view these as something that only serves to weaken Israel’s security.”
Tensions increase in the north of Israel
While tensions between Israel and Hezbollah continue to increase on the border with Lebanon, Israeli security agencies remain on alert for possible attacks on Israeli soil. On Wednesday morning, one person was killed and another was wounded in a stabbing attack at a shopping center in the city of Karmiel in the north of Israel. According to Israeli police, the assailant was shot and killed at the scene. He was later identified as Javad Rabia, from the Arab village of Kfar Nahaf, near Karmiel.
