The announcement from House Speaker John Boehner’s office this week came after several high-level interactions between U.S. and Israeli officials, including a phone call between the President and Netanyahu and a multi-hour meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer, a senior administration official told CNN.
Netanyahu’s snub has once again soured relations between the two world leaders, but U.S. officials insist the tensions won’t affect U.S. support for Israel.
The Boehner announcement came just over a week after Obama spoke over the phone with Netanyahu and urged him not to lobby in favor of new Iran sanctions, “asking for some space,” a senior administration official said. But the hawkish Israeli prime minister has a track record of supporting tougher sanctions against Iran and he’s expected to make that case when he addresses Congress in March.
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The White House announced that Obama won’t meet with Netanyahu during his visit because of the proximity to Israeli elections.
Netanyahu will address Congress just 12 days before the elections after he asked to push back his visit by nearly a month. And in Israel, Netanyahu’s visit will be a boon for him and his party as he plays himself up as the best protector of Israel’s security, of which a relationship with the United States is a key factor.
“Is that the relationship they want to have?” the senior administration official said. “The last thing we want to do is hurt Israel, but if he is able to stiff the U.S. president like that and we still offer him a meeting — that invites him and anyone else to do that over and over.”
