The U.S. has requested Israel cut down its reception ceremony at Tel Aviv’s airport for President Joe Biden’s arrival next month, Hebrew media reported.
According to Channel 13 news, the request to limit the number of Israeli officials in attendance at the ceremony and cut down its duration may be due to Biden’s age or else concerns over the hot weather.
It could also be to do with Israel’s precarious political situation following the decision to dissolve the Knesset, the report said.
The report also floated the option that the Biden administration was hoping to save face and not have a repeat of an incident that took place when then-MK Oren Hazan took a spontaneous selfie with then-president Donald Trump, who seemed game at the time.
The incident causes furor in Israel for being out of step with traditional protocol, with lawmakers at the time slamming Hazan for “embarrassing Israel.”
File/Israeli President Reuven Rivlin (R) and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speak at the Israeli presidential compound in Jerusalem, on March 9, 2016, prior to their meeting. (GALI TIBBON/AFP via Getty Images)
Separately on Wednesday, a senior State Department official hinted that more normalization ties between Israel and Arab nations may be in the offing.
“We are working, in the space that is not in the public domain, with a couple of other countries. And I think you’ll see some interesting things around the time of the president’s visit,” U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf told a congressional subcommittee.
Last week, the White House held a briefing with experts about Biden’s trip to the region and said it has been working on a “road map for normalization” between Saudi Arabia and Israel, Axios reported.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that Saudi Arabia was engaged in “serious talks” with Israel about establishing business ties and boosting security coordination.
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