Netanyahu is said to have instructed several government ministers they were not allowed to take meetings in the White House until he had received a formal invitation there himself, amid a months-long snub by President Joe Biden.
Netanyahu issued the directive after receiving requests from ministers who were planning to travel to Washington, DC, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, government members who were already on a visit to D.C. have been barred from meeting with Biden administration officials, with the exception of Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, who still maintains strong ties with the U.S. from his former role as Israel’s ambassador to the U.S.
Right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was rebuffed by U.S. officials on a recent trip over remarks calling to “wipe out” the Palestinian village of Huwara, the site of a terror attack in which two Israeli brothers were killed.
Smotrich apologized for the comments on several different occasions but that didn’t stop the Biden administration from preventing him from meeting officials in the U.S. Treasury, the counterpart to Smotrich’s ministry.
Nevertheless, according to Tuesday’s report, even Smotrich had been instructed not to meet with U.S. officials before an invitation to the White House was extended to Netanyahu.
As Breitbart reported, a senior Israeli official said that Netanyahu had still not been invited for “a number of reasons.”
According to Israeli reports, which cited both U.S. and senior Emirati officials, plans by the U.S. and the UAE to host Netanyahu in Abu Dhabi have been shelved amid discontent with the Netanyahu government towards the Palestinians, at least until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
In January, Netanyahu’s office informed reporters that the Israeli premier would likely visit Washington at the end of February or the beginning of March. A visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken early last month was seen as an opportunity for Biden to issue an official invitation. But the visit ended with no such gesture.
Meanwhile, Jordan’s King Abdullah was welcomed that week at the White House with open arms for a meeting with Biden.
When Netanyahu was reelected in November, a days-long delay before Biden called to congratulate him fueled speculation of a strained relationship between the two.
Responding to Tuesday’s report, opposition leader MK Yair Lapid said, “Netanyahu has ordered his ministers not to meet the Americans until the U.S. President invites him to the White House. After the shocking humiliation of Smotrich’s visit, that’s not such a bad idea.”
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