Joe Biden set to meet Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington next week despite COVID-19 diagnosis

President Biden is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Washington next week, but the White House has warned that the president’s recovery from COVID-19 will take priority.

“We hope that the two leaders will have an opportunity to meet when Prime Minister Netanyahu is in town,” John Kirby, White House national security communications director, told reporters Thursday.

Kirby said the president’s health and recovery after testing positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday would take priority and that it was unclear “whether or how that might affect the discussion.”

Netanyahu will address a joint session of Congress next Wednesday, and Kirby said the Israeli prime minister is expected to meet with Biden the following day. Vice President Harris is also expected to meet with the Israeli leader.

“I can’t tell you at this point exactly what that’s going to look like. But as we get closer to the date, we’ll certainly be able to provide you with more,” Kirby said.

The meeting comes as critics in Israel and the United States have accused Netanyahu of prioritizing the military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip over an internationally backed ceasefire deal that Biden has taken the lead in promoting.

The Knesset, Israel’s parliament, passed a resolution Thursday rejecting Palestinian statehood, a key pillar of Biden’s three-phase ceasefire deal. The resolution passed overwhelmingly in the politically divided government, 68 to 9.

“I think the best way to respond to that is to simply reiterate our strong belief in the power and promise of a two-state solution,” Kirby said in response to a question about the resolution.

“President Biden is not going to give up on this idea, and we are going to continue to do everything we can to try to achieve this outcome. We know it’s not going to happen overnight. And we know it’s not going to happen without challenges, and we also know that it takes leadership, strong courage and leadership in the region to achieve this outcome.”