Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu finally gets his White House meeting with Joe Biden

WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally got his White House meeting.

Two, in fact. One with President Joe Biden, who announced on Sunday that he was ending his reelection bid, and another with Vice President Kamala Harris, who's expected to replace Biden on the Democratic ticket.

"Mr. President, we've known each other for 40 years, and you've known every Israeli prime minister for 50 years," Netanyahu said to Biden ahead of their meeting in the Oval Office.

"From a proud Jew 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," he said. "And I look forward to discussing with you today and working with you in the months ahead."

Biden recalled the first Israeli prime minister he met was Golda Meir, back when he was a senator. "That was so far back, I was only 12," he joked.

An invitation to the White House had evaded Netanyahu since Biden and Harris took office. A meeting last year took place during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. After the Israelis said one had been issued and accepted for Monday, Biden tested positive for COVID and went into quarantine. He returned to the White House on Tuesday.

Biden has a complicated relationship with Netanyahu, who opposes longtime U.S. efforts to create a Palestinian state. He was openly critical of controversial judicial reforms that Netanyahu's government pushed before Hamas attacked Israel last October. Since then, Biden has been supportive of Israel's right to defend itself while at times condemning its conduct in the war.

Harris has been harsher. She warned Netanyahu in December that civilian casualties in Gaza were unacceptably high. She called for an immediate cease-fire in March.

On Thursday, Harris, whose husband is Jewish, told reporters that her meeting with Netanyahu had been "frank." She expressed her commitment to Israel but said she also remains concerned about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, “including the death of far too many innocent civilians.”

Harris said she also told the Israeli prime minister that it's time to finish the ceasefire and hostage plan that Biden detailed at the end of May.

Will there be a ceasefire? Biden, Harris to press Netanyahu on Israel-Hamas war

More than 20 calls with Netanyahu

Harris speaks regularly with Israeli President Issac Herzog, the official said, and met with him in person once. She has also sat in on more than 20 calls between Biden and Netanyahu.

Netanyahu delivered a previously announced address on Wednesday to a joint meeting of Congress. Dozens of Democratic members of Congress boycotted the speech over mounting civilian deaths in Gaza, while protestors clashed with police outside the U.S. Capitol and released maggots inside of a conference room at the Watergate hotel where the Israeli leader has been staying.

Harris did not preside over those remarks in her role as president of the Senate. The aide said it was due to her plans to be in Indianapolis at a Zeta Phi Beta Sorority event. She's the keynote speaker at the historically African American sorority's conference.

After his meeting with Biden on Thursday, the Israeli prime minister and the U.S. president met with the families of Americans who are being held hostage by Hamas. Netanyahu met earlier in the week with the families in Washington. So did White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

Netanyahu will also sit down on Friday with Donald Trump at the 2024 Republican presidential nominee's Florida estate after he leaves Washington, the former president said. Trump is in a close race for the presidency with Harris, polling on the match-up shows.

At the White House, the sitting leaders were expected to discuss the ceasefire and hostage plan that Biden detailed in May and negotiators have continued to pursue in hopes it will bring about an eventual end to the war.

"These are difficult, complex issues.  There are still gaps to close, but we’re making progress, the trend is positive, and I’m determined to get this deal done and bring an end to this war, which should end now," Biden said at a news conference at the end of the NATO Summit.

Biden announced a pause on shipments of 2,000 pound bombs to Israel in May amid an outcry over the number of civilians dying in the fighting in Gaza. His State Department said the same week in a report that it was likely that Israel misused U.S.-made weapons in the war.

Maggots and angry interns: Netanyahu DC visit sparks protests

At his news conference, Biden said that Netanyahu's government "occasionally was less than cooperative" with efforts to get food and medicine into Gaza. He chided that Netanyahu has "one of the most conservative War Cabinets" in the history of Israel.

"And there’s no ultimate answer other than a two-state solution here," Biden said in the July remarks.

Contributing: Michael Collins

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bibi Netanyahu finally gets his Biden White House invitation