President Biden kept looking at his notes while talking with President Israel Herzog at the White House and appeared to have difficulty pronouncing some cities.
"This is a friendship that I believe is simply indivisible. Together we are working to bring more security and integration to the Middle East. It's been a lot of hard work and we have much more to do, but progress has been made," US President Joe Biden told Israeli President Isaac Herzog in the Oval Office of the White House on July 18.
For much of his one-minute remarks before the press was ushered out, the 80-year-old president looked at a note he held in his hand or on his lap rather than looking directly at Mr. Herzog.
US President Joe Biden uses a notepad when meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House on July 18. Video : NY Post
Mr. Biden then described some of his administration's initiatives, such as supporting a maritime border agreement between Israel and Lebanon and supporting the decisions of Saudi Arabia and Oman to allow Israeli flights over their territories.
The US president appeared to have difficulty pronouncing the names of the Jordanian cities of Aqaba and Egypt's Sharm El-Sheikh, where Israeli and Palestinian leaders recently met with US and Middle East government officials.
"As I affirmed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, America's commitment to Israel is rock solid and we also ensure Iran never possesses nuclear weapons," Mr. Biden added, not taking questions from reporters.
The White House has repeatedly criticized Netanyahu's government for its efforts to reform Israel's judicial system, an idea pushed by nationalist politicians allied with Netanyahu. The reforms have led to major protests in the country.
President Herzog told Mr Biden that “some adversaries sometimes mistakenly think that some differences are affecting our unbreakable relationship”.
The Israeli president will address the US Congress on July 19 to mark the 75th anniversary of Israel’s independence. At least five Democratic lawmakers are expected to skip Herzog’s speech to protest Israel’s policy toward the Palestinians.
Huyền Lê (According to Fox News , NY Post, Sky News )
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