TE24 International Desk:
LONDON – U.S. President Joe Biden will refrain from shaking hands during his upcoming visit to Israel, the White House has told Prime Minister Yar Lapid’s office.
The decision was made due to an increase in COVID-19 cases in the United States and Israel, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The ministers received a notification on Monday stating that “due to the pressure of scheduling, cowardice and hot weather, the US President will not shake hands with the invitees (guests arriving at the airport) and will not have the opportunity to take private pictures.”
President Biden is scheduled to arrive at Ben-Gurion Airport on Wednesday and is expected to meet with his rival Isaac Herzog, as well as Lapid and other senior officials.
A recent report in the New York Times added that Biden’s associates were taking all necessary precautions to prevent the capture of the president’s Cavid-19.
All associates are tested once a week and have to wear their colored wrists on the day they are tested and if they have a face-to-face meeting with the president, they must be tested on the morning of the meeting and wear the N95 mask, it said. .
In addition to visiting Israel, Biden will visit the occupied West Bank and Saudi Arabia. On Monday, Israel reported 12,648 new COVID-19 cases, while there were about 58,000 new infections in the United States.
