US President Barack Obama will not receive Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in March at the White House, his administration said on Thursday, due to the proximity of his visit to Israel's elections.
"As a matter of long-standing practice and principle, we do not see heads of state or candidates in close proximity to their elections, so as to avoid the appearance of influencing a democratic election in a foreign country," Bernadette Meehan, spokesperson for the National Security Council, said in an e-mail.
Netanyahu will address a joint session of Congress during his visit, at the invitation of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), on Israel's position on negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.
The Israeli prime minister has publicly advocated for increasing pressure on Iran during the negotiations, and is expected to support a bill under consideration in the Congress that would trigger new sanctions on Iran should the talks fail.
"The president has been clear about his opposition to Congress passing new legislation on Iran that could undermine our negotiations and divide the international community," Meehan added. "The president has had many conversations with the Prime Minister on this matter, and I am sure they will continue to be in contact on this and other important matters.”
Shortly after the White House announcement, the State Department also cited the proximity to Israel's elections for the reason that US Secretary of State John Kerry will not meet with Netanyahu during the Washington visit.
Netanyahu on Thursday formally accepted an invitation to address the Congress, but will do so as a part of a trip to Washington in early March to attend the AIPAC conference, and not as part of a special trip to DC just for that occasion in mid-February.
The invitation to Netanyahu in the name of the bipartisan leadership of the House of Representatives and Senate caused a kerfuffle, with some Netanyahu critics saying the Republicans were meddling in Israel's elections, and others that Boehner was using Netanyahu to wage a battle with Obama over Iran sanctions.
The White House said it was surprised that it was not informed in advance – either by Boehner or Israeli officials – of the visit, and that this was a breach of protocol.
In an apparent effort to rectify the situation, on Wednesday evening, after Boehner confirmed the speech to Congress could be moved from February 11 to March 3, Israel contacted the White House to inform it of the change of plans.
The statement put out by the PMO announcing Netanyahu's formal acceptance of the invitation, and the change of date, stressed that in his speeches both to Congress and AIPAC the Prime Minister would “thank President Obama, Congress and the American people for their support of Israel.”
“I am honored to accept this invitation, which reflects the special friendship between Israel and the US, as well as the strong bipartisan support for Israel across the country,” he said.
Netanyahu said he spoke last week with Obama about the the common challenges the US and Israel face from Islamist extremists, including increasing terrorism, and Iran's desire to acquire nuclear weapons. Both those subjects are expected to be the focus of his talk to Congress.
The speech to Congress will take place just two weeks before the election. Earlier, Israeli officials said efforts were underway to see about trying to set up a meeting with Obama.
This will be the third time Netanyahu had addressed a joint Congressional session, and the last time – in 2011 – it was also during a trip he made to the US to address the AIPAC conference.