This coming week, President Biden will meet with the heads of state for the countries of Israel and Palestine, as well as Saudi Arabia.
Jake Sullivan, who serves as the national security advisor for the White House, made the revelation on Wednesday that President Joe Biden will not shake hands with anybody during his travel to the Middle East this week.
A little while later, former Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu came into view, and Biden extended his hand to shake with him as well.
During the president’s first stop of the tour, which was in Israel, Sullivan gave a press conference aboard Air Force One about the policies that are now in place in that country.
According to Sullivan, we are currently in a “period of the pandemic” in which “we’re trying to enhance masking, limit contact, and decrease spread.” This “time” is already underway.
Considering that, in the past, the President of the United States has shaken hands with guests at the White House, the no-contact policy is a significant deviation from standard operating practice.
