Why have senior US officials not yet called Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him on his astounding victory in the election? It's been four days since the results of the vote were announced and two days since they were officially confirmed, so why has President Joe Biden not congratulated his old friend yet? And neither has Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
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US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides was the only one to pick up the phone, minutes after Lapid conceded, congratulating Netanyahu on the win. Administration officials have said that "Biden is expected to speak with Netanyahu" over the weekend.
Israel Hayom learned that there was an unsuccessful attempt to coordinate a phone call between the two on Saturday. Sunday is considered the weekend in the US, so the time frame has not passed yet.
One official said Biden is preoccupied with the mid-term elections, which are being held in the US this week, however, another source – a former official – said it was an excuse and that the delay was not incidental.
"Netanyahu took a good few days to congratulate Biden on his victory in the 2020 election against [Donald] Trump, and he only did so when it became clear beyond any doubt that Trump had indeed lost. There is a connection between Netanyahu's delay then, and Biden's delay now," he said.
But Biden is not the only one dragging his feet. So is Blinken. In the last few days, he participated in the 7G summit and met with several foreign ministers from around the world. During the conference, he spoke on the phone with the leaders of Egypt, Iraq, and the Palestinian Authority. But, as mentioned above, failed to speak with Netanyahu.
At this stage, Netanyahu's associates are waiting patiently and do not analyze the delay. The former senior official told Israel Hayom that "if the conversation does not happen by Sunday, there will be questions."
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