The US President arrived in Israel on Wednesday for the first leg of its journey to the Middle East to strengthen alliances in the region.
Despite these apparent health fears, President Biden was then seen enthusiastically shaking hands with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and reportedly clapping the hands of Holocaust survivors at Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the genocide.
Given his previous close contact with people in the White House before his trip, questions have been raised about whether the POTUS and his team are trying to avoid the president shaking hands with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman on Friday.
President Biden will meet the controversial prince when he travels to Saudi Arabia after Israel.
During his election campaign, the 79-year-old president vowed to make the Middle East a “pariah” after the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, whom bin Salman reportedly endorsed.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denied that this was the reason for the handshake conundrum.
She said: “We say we will try to minimize contact as much as possible.
“But there are also precautions we take because this is up to his doctor. BA.4, BA.5 is indeed increasing, as we see.
“And we want to make sure we take those precautions to protect him and to protect all of us.”
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While at Yad Vashem, President Biden held hands with and interacted with 86-year-old Rena Quint and 95-year-old Gita Cycowicz.
Ms. Quint later revealed about their interaction: “Did you see the president hug me?
“He asked permission to kiss me, and he kept holding my hand and we were told not to touch him!”