WASHINGTON (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House Thursday (July 25) to discuss the war in Gaza – and the possibility of securing a cease-fire deal – with President Joe Biden and likely Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.
Netanyahu’s first White House visit since 2020 comes at a time of growing pressure in Israel and the U.S. to find an endgame to the nine-month war that’s left more than 39,000 dead in Gaza and some 1,200 dead in Israel. Dozens of Israeli hostages are still languishing in Hamas captivity.
Biden reiterated in their Oval Office meeting his calls for Israel and Hamas to quickly agree to a cease-fire deal that would bring home the remaining hostages, according to White House national security spokesman John Kirby. White House officials say the negotiations are in the closing stages, but there are issues that need to be resolved.
“The gaps are closable,” Kirby said. He added, “But it’s going to require, as it always does, some leadership, some compromise.”
Ethics & Religious Liberty President Brent Leatherwood met with Netanyahu earlier in the week and was able to express Southern Baptists’ support for Israel.
“I let [Netanyahu] know that Israel has – especially after the horrible attacks of Oct. 7th – the fervent prayers of so many Southern Baptists,” Leatherwood wrote in a post on X July 23. “I thanked him for the work his government did in coordination with U.S. State Department and with us at the @ERLC to ensure the safety of so many SBC churches that had groups in Israel on that terrible day.
“I relayed how these efforts helped fuel the passage of a significant SBC resolution in June signaling the SBC’s belief in both Israel’s right to exist and defend itself from Hamas terrorists,” Leatherwood continued. “Once again, resolutions are profoundly helpful for our work.”
Netanyahu expressed his appreciation for evangelicals and Southern Baptists, specifically, Leatherwood said, adding that a meeting is being planned for later this year to make a formal presentation of the SBC resolution “On Justice and Peace in the Aftermath of the October 7 Attack on Israel” at the Israeli Embassy.
“We should continue praying for Israel’s survival and for a just and peaceful resolution to the war and all affected,” Leatherwood wrote.
Harris was scheduled to meet separately on Thursday with Netanyahu, where she was expected to press him on securing a deal to release the hostages kidnapped during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel that launched the war.
Netanyahu, last at the White House when former President Donald Trump was in office, is headed to Florida on Friday to meet with the Republican presidential nominee.
The conservative Likud Party leader Netanyahu and centrist Democrat Biden have had ups-and-downs over the years. Netanyahu, in what will likely be his last White House meeting with Biden, reflected on the roughly 40 years they’ve known each other and thanked the president for his service.
“From a proud Jewish Zionist to a proud Irish American Zionist, I want to thank you for 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the state of Israel,” Netanyahu told Biden at the start of their meeting.
A U.S.-backed proposal to release remaining hostages in Gaza over three phases is something that would be a legacy-affirming achievement for Biden, who abandoned his reelection bid and endorsed Harris. It could also be a boon for Harris in her bid to succeed him.
Following their talks, Biden and Netanyahu met with the families of American hostages.
Netanyahu, in a fiery address before a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, offered a robust defense of Israel’s conduct during the war and lashed out against accusations by the International Criminal Court of Israeli war crimes. He made the case that Israel, in its fight against Iran-backed Hamas, was effectively keeping “Americans boots off the ground while protecting our shared interests in the Middle East.”
“Remember this: Our enemies are your enemies,” Netanyahu said. “Our fight, it’s your fight. And our victory will be your victory. “
Netanyahu used his speech to praise Biden for his administration’s support in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack. But he also noted action that Trump took during his four years in office that benefited Israel, including recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, confronting Iran’s aggression and moving the U.S Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Netanyahu derided protesters who massed near the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, calling them Iran’s “useful idiots.”
Harris on Thursday said she was outraged that some protesters tagged areas near the U.S. Capitol with pro-Hamas graffiti, expressed support for the militants, and burned a U.S. flag at Union Station.
“Pro-Hamas graffiti and rhetoric is abhorrent and we must not tolerate it in our nation,” Harris said in a statement. “I condemn the burning of the American flag. That flag is a symbol of our highest ideals as a nation and represents the promise of America. It should never be desecrated in that way.”
Protesters massed near the White House on Thursday chanted, “Arrest Netanyahu,” and brought in an effigy of the prime minister with blood on its hands and wearing an orange jumpsuit. A small number of counter-protesters wore Israeli flags around their shoulders.
Trump and his Republican allies criticized Harris, who had events in Indiana and Texas on Wednesday, for skipping Netanyahu’s address to Congress. The vice president is the president of the Senate and would typically co-preside over such an event with the House speaker, Republican Mike Johnson. White House officials said that her absence wasn’t a slight and was solely due to scheduling conflicts.
From The Associated Press. May not be republished. AP writer Ashraf Khalil contributed reporting.
