Biden to visit Israel on Wednesday
US President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday to be briefed on its plans for war against Hamas militants.
The announcement that President Biden will visit Israel was made at the US embassy in Jerusalem after a marathon seven hour meeting between top US diplomat Antony Blinken and PM Netanyahu on Monday. Biden will “receive a comprehensive brief on Israel’s war aims and strategy” while visiting the country, Blinken told reporters.
He will also “hear from Israel how it will conduct its operations in a way that minimises civilian casualties” and allows aid to reach Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Biden will also work to create “some sort of safe passage” for civilians to leave Gaza if they wish.
Biden’s visit comes at the invitation of Netanyahu. After visiting Israel he will travel to Amman, Jordan.
There, he will meet with Jordanian King Abdullah, Egypt’s President Al-Sisi and the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.
The decision for the US president to travel to Israel was “not taken lightly” says National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby. He did not share many details but said: “It’s a very short trip”. Biden will first visit Tel Aviv before flying to Amman.
Visiting US diplomats and lawmakers have been forced to shelter from Hamas rockets landing in Israel over the past few days.
Earlier on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was forced to shelter in a Tel Aviv bunker for several minutes.
“Obviously we would not be making the trip if we did not believe proper security measures were in place,” says Kirby, of Biden’s visit.
The situation is very different from the Russia-Ukraine war, Kirby says, adding that Kyiv is being “constantly bombarded” by Russia. Biden travelled to Kyiv in a surprise visit that was kept a secret earlier this year
(BBC)
