Biden-Harris-Trump, takime të veçanta me kryeministrin izraelit

2024-07-26 18:31:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Biden-Harris-Trump, takime të veçanta me kryeministrin izraelit

Joe Biden, Kamala Harris

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris held separate meetings with the Israeli leader at the White House on Thursday. Mr. Netanyahu's visit to Washington comes at a delicate moment in the Gaza conflict amid uncertainty in American politics. VOA correspondent Anita Powell brings more details.

The meeting between President Joe Biden and the Israeli leader amid a 'political storm' in the United States focused on talks to achieve a lasting peace and end the suffering in Gaza.

President Biden was reserved in his comments.

"Welcome back Mr. Prime Minister. We have a lot to talk about and I think we should address these issues."

Vice President Harris appeared in a determined tone after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hours later, focusing on the horror experienced by the population in Gaza. She urged Israel to accept the deal offered to end the fighting, which would lead to the release of the hostages.

"I also expressed to the prime minister my serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the deaths of many innocent civilians. I made clear my deep concern over the dire humanitarian situation there, with over 2 million people facing food insecurity and another half million facing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity. What has happened in Gaza during the last nine months is very serious," she said.

Ms. Harris's words were echoed by protesters outside the White House on Thursday, who objected to the Israeli military's conduct in Gaza and urged President Biden not to offer support to Israel.

The White House said the Biden-Netanyahu meeting was productive, without mentioning any progress.

"It was a good discussion with Prime Minister Netanyahu. The president had the opportunity to lay out his concerns about where we stand on the cease-fire agreement and seek its finalization, as well as talk about a variety of other issues such as Iran's destabilizing activities, tensions with Lebanon, the need for more humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. Many issues were discussed," said John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council.

Today Mr. Netanyahu also meets with the Republican candidate for President Donald Trump.

Prime Minister Netanyahu's talks with the three American leaders are seen as an attempt to maintain a delicate political balance. Some pro-Israeli analysts say Mr. Netanyahu's defiant stance toward Washington has yielded results.

"There is more likelihood of a ceasefire now than there was a few months ago, before Israel entered Rafah. Vice President Harris told the Israelis they must not enter or face consequences. President Biden did not want the Israeli military to enter. It actually turned out to be quite a successful mission. The mission in Rafah is not over yet, but Israel managed to quickly relocate many Palestinian civilians to other areas so that the army could fight Hamas," says Michael Makovsky of the Jewish National Security Institute of America.

But Mr. Netanyahu's opponents, both outside and inside Congress, disagree. They are reminding the next American president – ??whoever he or she is – that their word carries weight in this matter./ Voa