Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House Thursday to discuss the war in Gaza with President Joe Biden and likely Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at an important moment for all three politicians.

Netanyahu’s first White House visit since 2020, when former President Donald Trump was in office, comes at a time of growing pressure to find an endgame to the nine-month war that’s left more than 39,000 dead in Gaza. Dozens of Israeli hostages are still languishing in Hamas captivity.

Biden greeted Netanyahu in the Oval Office, where the Israeli leader thanked the president for his service.

The conservative Likud Party leader Netanyahu and centrist Democrat Biden have had ups-and-downs over the years. Netanyahu, in what could be his last White House meeting with Biden, reflected on the roughly 40 years they’ve known each other.

“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.

Biden thanked Netanyahu and joked that his first meeting with an Israeli prime minister, Golda Meir, in 1973 soon after he was elected to the Senate came when he was only 12.

Biden planned to use the meeting in part to press Israel and Hamas to seal a U.S.-backed proposal to release remaining hostages in Gaza over three phases — something that would be a legacy-affirming achievement for the 81-year-old Democrat, who abandoned his reelection bid and endorsed Harris. It could also be a boon for Harris in her bid to succeed him.

White House officials say the negotiations are in the closing stages but there are issues that need to be resolved.

Following their talks, Biden and Netanyahu met with the families of American hostages.

Harris, who will meet separately with Netanyahu later, is trying to demonstrate that she has the mettle to serve as commander in chief. She’s being scrutinized by those on the political left who say Biden hasn’t done enough to force Netanyahu to end the war and by Republicans looking to brand her as insufficient in her support for Israel.

A senior administration official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said there is “no daylight between the president and vice president” on Israel. Harris’ last one-on-one engagement with Netanyahu was in March 2021, but she’s taken part in more than 20 calls between Biden and Netanyahu.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)