No word from the White House on whether Biden will meet Netanyahu in Washington

By Jeff Mason

PARIS (Reuters) – The White House declined to say on Sunday whether the president Joe Biden will find Benjamin Netanyahu when the Israeli prime minister visits Washington next month to address the US Congress.

“I have nothing to announce today,” Biden’s national security adviser said Jake Sullivan he said in an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation,” adding that the two men were in regular communication.

“He’s coming to speak in Congress. The president talks to him all the time,” Sullivan said.

Netanyahu is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress on July 24. Biden has been a staunch supporter of Israel in its war with Hamas in Gaza, but there have been tensions between the two men over how Israel is conducting the war.

Biden, who is running for re-election in November, has faced criticism for his support for Israel from his left-leaning political base as the Palestinian death toll rises from Israel’s attack.

Sullivan said he expected a ceasefire and hostage agreement to be in place by the time Netanyahu arrived in Washington. Hamas should simply say “yes” to the proposal on the table, he said.

Biden, who returns to the United States from France later this Sunday, welcomed the rescue by Israeli forces of four hostages held by Hamas and promised to continue working until all hostages are released and a ceasefire is reached.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason, editing by Timothy Heritage)