Netanyahu heads back to Israel without reaching out to Biden

The prime minister rarely left the White House’s guest house during his time in Washington, due to coronavirus-related restrictions.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands with US President Donald Trump after signing the Abraham Accords. September 15, 2020. (photo credit: REUTERS/TOM BRENNER)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands with US President Donald Trump after signing the Abraham Accords. September 15, 2020.
(photo credit: REUTERS/TOM BRENNER)
WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concluded his trip to Washington on Wednesday without meeting with or even reaching out to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
“This visit was totally focused on the event at the White House,” a spokesman for Netanyahu said. “There were no meetings with Congress and none with Jewish leadership. It was not a ‘normal’ visit.”
A source in the Prime Minister’s Office pointed out earlier this week that Biden is not based in Washington; he is in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, or campaigning in other locations.
During his time in Washington, Netanyahu rarely left Blair House – the White House’s guesthouse – due to coronavirus-related restrictions.
Biden has not had any publicly known meetings or phone calls with foreign leaders during his campaign.
US President Donald Trump spoke out against Biden during his meeting with Netanyahu in the Oval Office, saying there is “nothing that [Iran] or China or Russia would like better than for Sleepy Joe Biden to win the election.... A dream for those countries would be Sleepy Joe.”
Netanyahu met with Trump and Democratic then-candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016, when he was in New York for the UN General Assembly.
“This was a bad move by the prime minister and does further damage to the tradition of bipartisanship in the US-Israel relationship,” opposition leader Yair Lapid said of Netanyahu’s lack of contact with Biden.