Israeli leaders will not be shaking hands with President Joe Biden when he visits Israel this week.
Biden will meet with Israeli ministers when he arrives in the country on Wednesday as part of his visit to the Middle East. However, due to an increased level of COVID-19 infections in both the United States and Israel, the White House told Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s office that Biden would refrain from shaking hands during his visit, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Prior U.S. presidents would be greeted by Israel’s Cabinet ministers, president, and prime minister when visiting the country. In addition, the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff and the chief of police are typically present when greeting the U.S. president.
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In addition to Israel, Biden will visit the West Bank and Saudi Arabia during his trip to the Middle East. Biden has said his visit comes at the request of Israeli leaders, and he has emphasized the possibility of expanding the Abraham Accords, a major foreign policy achievement for former President Donald Trump.
A total of 9,959 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Israel in the last 24 hours, as of Monday morning. At least 7,054,015 people have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, with 6,382,834 fully vaccinated, according to the World Health Organization.
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In the U.S., 156,639 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the last day. For vaccinations, 262,672,183 have received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 219,527,809 are fully vaccinated, according to the organization.
