President Joe Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday to “stand in solidarity” with Israel in the wake of Hamas’ terror attack.
Upon his arrival, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pulled him in for a veritable bear hug.
Watch:
JUST IN: Benjamin Netanyahu Greets President Biden at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv. pic.twitter.com/gRy47eCOiM
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 18, 2023
CNN touted that the president’s “historic arrival in wartime Tel Aviv Wednesday – the first trip to Israel by an American president during a time of war – marked his most forceful public show of support for Israel since the October 7 attacks by Hamas that left 1,400 Israelis – and dozens of Americans – dead.”
Following the president’s arrival in Israel, he and Netanyahu held a bilateral meeting during which he expressed America’s deep support for Israel.
“Americans are grieving with you, they really are. And Americans are worried, because we know this is not an easy field to navigate, what you have to do,” he said, adding that it was important that he “personally come” to Israel.
“I wanted the people of Israel – the people of the world – to know where the United States stands. … The world is looking. Israel has a value set like the United States does, and other democracies. And they’re looking to see what we’re going to do,” he continued.
Netanyahu in turn called the U.S. president’s presence there “deeply, deeply moving” and thanked him for the “unequivocal support” and unprecedented cooperation.”
“From the moment Israel was attacked, you’ve rightly drawn a clear line between the forces of civilization and the forces of barbarism,” he said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed US President Joe Biden to Israel, at Ben-Gurion International Airport. pic.twitter.com/rM4FgbUr8A
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) October 18, 2023
During the meeting, the president slammed Hamas over its terror attack, outright accusing them of having “slaughtered” over 1,000 people.
“And that’s not hyperbole. Just slaughtered, including 31 Americans. They have taken scores of people hostage, including children. You said, imagine what those children hiding from Hamas were thinking. It’s beyond my comprehension to imagine what they were thinking. They have committed evils and atrocities that make ISIS look somewhat more rational,” he said.
“Americans are grieving with you, they really are. Americans are worried… because they know this is not an easy field to navigate what you have to do. Israel, as they respond to these attacks, it seems to me that you have to continue to ensure that you have what you need to defend yourselves. And we’re going to make sure that occurs.”
He also expressed outrage over Hamas’ accidental bombing of a Palestinian hospital.
“I was deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday. And based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you. But there’s a lot of people out there who’re not sure. So we have to overcome a lot of things,” he said.
The hospital bombing is of vital importance because it “caused a scramble of Biden’s plans for the trip as the president walked onto Air Force One,” according to CNN.
The president was originally scheduled to hold a pow-wow with King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, but Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi announced that the summit has been cancelled to appease Abbas.
According to The Times of Israel, a senior Palestinian official reportedly “said Abbas had canceled his participation in the meeting” to protest the hospital bombing, which he for some reason has personally blamed on Israel.
US President Joe Biden says he was “deeply saddened and outraged” by the Gaza hospital explosion, and tells Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you.”https://t.co/PAiZ4D1jU3
Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/MzucWQs9Af
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 18, 2023
Regardless, the cancelling of the summit has been viewed as a major setback.
“I can tell you, this is going to be a very big sort of setback for this administration. We know, obviously, how important that meeting with President Abbas was going to be. Any chance of there being diplomatic conversations, any diplomatic efforts, would need to include him,” CNN senior White House correspondent MJ Lee observed late Tuesday, according to Mediaite.
“So that is going to be a setback as far as this trip is concerned and the fact that the president is no longer going to be meeting face-to-face with Egypt’s President Sisi. That’s a country that has been so central to all of the conversations we have been talking about, in terms of the U.S. trying to secure humanitarian aid getting into Gaza, and the establishment of a humanitarian corridor so that people who want to leave Gaza can leave,” she added.
The summit is reportedly still expected to eventually occur, but just not now.
After Biden’s meeting with Netanyahu, he was expected to meet with Israel’s war cabinet, which includes Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, war cabinet minister and past IDF head Benny Gantz, and war cabinet observer Gadi Eisenkot, also a past IDF head.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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