Israel’s Netanyahu meets Biden in NYC

Netanyahu has been a frequent visitor to the White House over the years. Pics/AP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to have his long-coveted meeting with President Joe Biden on Wednesday - bringing together the two leaders for the first time since the Israeli leader took office at the helm of his country's far-right government late last year.

Netanyahu has been a frequent visitor to the White House over the years, and Israeli leaders are typically invited within weeks of taking office. The lengthy delay in setting up the meeting with Biden and the White House decision to hold the meeting in New York rather than Washington have been widely interpreted in Israel as signs of US displeasure with Netanyahu's new government.

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"Meeting at the White House symbolizes close relations and friendship and honor, and the denial of that shows exactly the opposite," said Eytan Gilboa, an expert on US-Israeli relations at Israel's Bar-Ilan University. The White House was tight-lipped ahead of the Wednesday meeting, declining to offer any more details on what would be on Biden's agenda for the discussions.

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