Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not attend the US Embassy’s July 4 celebration
Due to the ongoing wars of the Israeli military with Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not plan to attend the US Embassy’s July 4 party.
“Israel is at war and the prime minister is busy managing it,” Netanyahu’s office said.
“Just as the Prime Minister did not attend the (Israeli) Independence Day and Jerusalem Day ceremonies, he also considered it appropriate not to attend the American Independence Day celebrations at the Ambassador’s residence,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.
The party itself will be a rather toned-down event, given the war. The media, which normally attends, have not been invited. The traditional guest list is much shortened, although some ministers have been invited. Foreign Minister Israel Katz is expected to attend.
A source close to Netanyahu dismissed as “nonsense” reports that the prime minister’s decision not to attend the party at the US embassy was due to tensions with the Biden administration.
Frustrated by lack of invitation to Washington
The event was a large gala event at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, and Netanyahu was frustrated at the lack of an invitation to Washington, which is traditionally given to Israeli prime ministers when they take office.
Netanyahu was sworn into office in late December 2022, but had not received such an invitation by July 2023.
He met with US President Joe Biden, whom he has known for over four decades, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last September.
Biden has not yet invited Netanyahu to visit the White House, although the prime minister is scheduled to travel to Washington later this month to address a joint session of Congress.
Biden and his administration have strongly supported Israel in its wars against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in the north.
However, relations between the powerful allies remain strained over strategies in the Gaza war, the distribution of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip and the speed of arms deliveries to Israel.
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