Netanyahu Shortens His Visit to New York and Cancels Meeting with Musk

Tel Aviv - Afaq News - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to cancel a meeting that was scheduled with American businessman Elon Musk, despite sending an Israeli working team to Texas to prepare for the meeting. Estimates suggest that Netanyahu will arrive in New York next week for only a few hours, deliver his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, and then return directly to Israel.

According to Israeli sources quoted by the "Wynet" website, Netanyahu made the decision to cancel the meeting with Musk, noting that coordinating the visit faced several challenges, including the need to stop for fuel in the United States, as the plane could not reach Texas from Israel without a stop.

An Israeli source stated that "there are challenges in coordination, whether the need to land for refueling or the Americans' preference not to make arrangements at the last minute," adding that efforts are currently underway to arrange other meetings for Netanyahu in New York on the sidelines of his speech at the General Assembly.

According to the expected schedule, Netanyahu will not arrive in New York on Wednesday as planned, but will arrive on the morning of his speech, which is scheduled for 2 PM local time, 9 PM Israel time, and then leave the United States immediately after the speech.

The visit is considered exceptionally short compared to Netanyahu's previous visits to the United States.

In this context, it is not expected that Netanyahu will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump during the visit, despite attempts by close associates of the Israeli Prime Minister to arrange a meeting between them.

Netanyahu's schedule could have been adjusted if an agreement had been reached to hold the meeting, but that has not happened so far. Trump is scheduled to deliver his speech before the General Assembly on Tuesday, before returning to Washington for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Senior officials in the Trump administration previously stated that the U.S. president would not meet with Netanyahu on the sidelines of the General Assembly meetings in New York, attributing this to "schedule constraints."

Another source in the U.S. administration indicated that Netanyahu's presence in the United States would be limited, given the approaching date of the Israeli elections.

Netanyahu is scheduled to deliver his speech before the United Nations General Assembly next Thursday at 2 PM local time in New York.