Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to spend under eight hours in New York for his UN address, then return to Israel. His office said he would meet nine world leaders but made no mention of U.S. meetings, amid rocky U.S.-Israeli ties and ahead of Israel's October 27 election.
The planned meetings are with the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Panama and Ethiopia; Colombia's vice president; and the prime ministers of Greece, Slovenia and Papua New Guinea. Netanyahu's office said a tight schedule and the need to return before Sukkot kept him from accommodating all leaders who requested meetings.
Former Israeli ambassador Michael Oren said he could not recall an Israeli prime minister visiting the United States without meeting the president and called the apparent lack of one a blow ahead of the election. Netanyahu's trip last year lasted a week and included a meeting with Trump; Trump has met Netanyahu eight times in his second term, most recently in July. The allies also diverged over Iran: after jointly launching a war in February, Trump sought to exit with key goals unmet, while Israel opposed Washington's June interim deal with Tehran, which unraveled weeks later.
