White House has 'every expectation' Biden will meet Netanyahu next week

WASHINGTON

The White House said Thursday it has "every expectation" that President Joe Biden will meet Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits the US capital next week, despite Biden's recent coronavirus diagnosis.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that final details have to be worked out, but emphasized that Biden's recovery from the virus is the current priority.

"Obviously, we need to make sure that the president's health and his recovery from COVID takes priority, and if and how that might affect a discussion with Prime Minister Netanyahu -- we're just not in a position today to be able to know," he said.

The White House announced Biden's diagnosis Wednesday while he was campaigning in Las Vegas. He has since flown to his home state of Delaware where he is self-isolating.

Kirby described his symptoms as "mild."

Netanyahu is slated to go to Washington to address a joint session of Congress on July 24 after receiving an invitation from the Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in May. It was co-signed by the top Republican in the Senate and top Democrat in the House.

The Democrats have come under mounting pressure from constituents about the invitation, which comes as Israel continues a devastating war against the Gaza Strip where the death toll is rapidly approaching 40,000.

The vast majority of the dead have been women and children. Nearly all of the coastal enclave's 2.3 million residents have been forced into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, medicine and other necessities.