White House Clarifies: Netanyahu Not Invited to White House

President Joe Biden may be meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at some point this year, but no specific invitation has been made that will bring him to the White House, senior officials have clarified.

Netanyahu on Monday released a statement about a phone call with Biden, leading the media in both the United States and Israel to report that he had been invited to the White House, but that is not the case, reports an analysis piece in the Israeli publication Haaretz.

Later Monday, however, the White House clarified the situation, speaking about a meeting that will take place before the year's end, but not specifying that an invitation would be made or that it would happen at the White House.

Biden and Netanyahu are both planning to attend the United Nations General Assembly in late September, so it's possible the meeting will take place there. However, Biden will be meeting on the sidelines of the assembly with several other world leaders, while a White House meeting would reflect a closer relationship, Haaretz noted.

The Biden administration hasn't ruled out an Oval Office appearance for Netanyahu, but that will depend on the steps he takes concerning legislation against the Israeli judiciary and his government's policies in the occupied territories.

Meanwhile, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said it's a mistake to think that a potential meeting between Biden and Netanyahu is a sign that the administration is no longer concerned by the latest events in Israel, calling those concerns "still valid."

Kirby also repeated the administration's opposition to the steps taken by Israel's government concerning the Palestinian issue and said Biden does not regret what he said last week concerning the Israeli government.

However, Biden will host Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House on Tuesday, marking the second time Herzog has been there in a year.

There are questions about whether Herzog will try to convince Biden to take a conciliatory position with Israel's new government.

The protest movement against the Israeli government's judicial overhaul has designated Tuesday as a "day of disruption."