Protests, Kamala Harris rise overshadow Netanyahu's Washington visit

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to arrive to Washington on Monday and meet with President Joe Biden on Tuesday, a day before the Israeli leader is due to address a joint session of Congress.

After Biden announced his intention to withdraw from the presidential race and endorsed his Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday, Netanyahu refrained from wading into US electoral politics. The Israeli prime minister who is known to favor Republican nominees said Monday he will seek the continuation of American bipartisan support of Israel and pledged to preserve Israel’s friendship and partnership with the United States no matter who wins the next election.

Speaking with reporters before taking off for Washington, Netanyahu said he intended to reaffirm to the United States — "to our friends in both political camps" — that "regardless of who the American people choose as their next president, Israel remains its most indispensable and strongest ally in the Middle East."

Harris to the left of Biden

Apart from Biden, and a possible, not-yet-confirmed meeting with former President Donald Trump, Netanyahu is also set to meet with Vice President and presidential front-runner Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Harris is seen to the left of Biden on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In March, NBC News reported that White House officials toned down parts of a speech Harris was expected to deliver, which described in detail the dire humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip. Reuters said Monday that Harris is expected to stick largely to Biden's foreign policies, but could adopt a harsher tone with Israel over the Gaza war, if elected president.

Sidelining his disagreements with Biden, Netanyahu said that in addition to addressing Congress July 24, he is also set to meet with the American president "whom I have known for over 40 years." Netanyahu said, "This [the meeting] will be an opportunity to thank him for the things he did for Israel in the war and during his long and distinguished career in public service, as senator, vice president and president. In this time of war and uncertainty, it is of the outmost importance for our enemies to know that the United States and Israel are standing together — today, tomorrow and always."

Netanyahu’s visit to Washington will be his first since establishing his government in December 2022, and in fact the first in almost four years. Biden has been reluctant to invite Netanyahu over the composition of his government, which includes several far-right ministers. It was only in July 2023 that the White House extended an invitation to Netanyahu, but without any specific date. Eventually, Biden and Netanyahu met in New York last September, on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, not in Washington. The two leaders met again Oct. 18, when Biden arrived to Israel on a solidarity visit, following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. 

Netanyahu arrives to Washington not upon an invitation by the White House, but as a guest of Congress. Last March, Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, long considered a friend of Israel on the Hill, said publicly in March that Israelis should have early elections to replace Netanyahu. Still, Schumer eventually joined the initiative of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to invite Netanyahu to address a joint session, making the Israeli premier one of the only world leaders to deliver his fourth speech to Congress.

The invitation letter for Netanyahu — signed by Johnson, Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — said, “To build on our enduring relationship and to highlight America’s solidarity with Israel, we invite you to share the Israeli government’s vision for defending democracy, [combating] terror, and establishing a just and lasting peace in the region.”

Washington police said they were expecting a large number of demonstrators outside Congress on Wednesday, protesting against Netanyahu and the Gaza war, and were making additional security arrangements. They added that there were no known threats.

Biden still seeking a deal

After initial unclarity, due to Biden getting sick with the coronavirus, the Israeli premier’s office confirmed that he would indeed meet with Biden while in Washington. Hundreds of Israelis demonstrated Monday morning at the airport, calling on Netanyahu to reach a deal with Hamas for the liberation of the hostages. A few family members of hostages are accompanying Netanyahu on his trip and will be present for the Congress speech. Other family members of hostages refused Netanyahu’s invitation to join him, estimating that the Israeli premier is sabotaging efforts to reach a deal.

Former Israeli diplomat Nadav Tamir, who had served in Washington, believes that Biden's priority in the meeting with Netanyahu will remain the US interest of promoting a deal for the release of the hostages and a cessation of hostilities. Such a deal, Tamir told Al-Monitor, "would allow the president’s envoy — Amos Hochstein — to advance the American plan for a deal between Israel and Hezbollah to de-escalate tensions on the border with Lebanon. It will also allow White House senior Brett McGurk to push forward the plan for normalization of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and the initiative by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, together with six Arab foreign ministers, to set an alternative to Hamas that would govern the Gaza Strip until control is handed over to the so-called "revitalized Palestinian Authority."

According to Tamir, now that Biden has made his decision on dropping from the presidential race, he will have more time to focus on these plans. He said that this would mean that Netanyahu should expect a complicated meeting with the president, who will insist on reaching soon a plan for the liberation of the hostages and a Gaza cease-fire.