President Joe Biden shook hands with Israeli officials despite warnings from the White House not to do so.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Wednesday that due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden would not be shaking hands with anyone during his high-stakes Middle Eastern trip this week.
“I think just the simplest way for me to put it is that we’re in a phase of the pandemic right now where we’re looking to increase masking, reduce contact, to minimize spread,” Sullivan said.
Not long afterward, the president met former Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, and shook hands with him.
As per usual, the White House went into “damage control” mode and argued that the decisions were made by Biden’s doctor.
“This is up to his doctor,” Jean-Pierre insisted. “We want to make sure that we’re taking those precautions to keep him safe and to keep all of us safe, and we just want to be very clear on that.”
Biden’s visit to the Middle East has spurred bipartisan criticism from U.S. lawmakers, especially after he announced that he would be reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran.
Jim Carafano, The Heritage Foundation’s vice president of foreign policy and national security, urged the president to put “maximum pressure” on the Islamic country and keep Trump-era sanctions in place.
“Lifting these sanctions in exchange for short-term restrictions on Iran’s uranium-enrichment program will put money in the regime’s pockets that it will undoubtedly use for destructive purposes, just as it did following the 2015 deal. Biden’s pathetic embrace of failed agreements that enrich and empower our adversaries shows that he is a president to be taken advantage of,” Carafano said.
Biden also took flak from families of 9/11 victims who fear that the president might agree to keep concealed documents that show the Saudi government’s ties to the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks in exchange for a deal on oil or Middle East peace.
“Our biggest fear is that President Biden uses the 9/11 families and use these documents as a chip or trade us as part of a larger deal to help bring down the cost of oil or convince the Saudis to stop carpet bombing Yemen,” said Brett Eagleson, whose father was among the victims of 9/11.
