White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan announced Wednesday that due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, President Biden will not be shaking hands with anyone during this week’s trip to the Middle East. Shortly thereafter, however, Biden met and shook hands with former Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. Sullivan had discussed the policy while speaking to reporters on Air Force One ahead of the president’s arrival in Israel, the trip’s first stop. “I think the simplest way to put it is we’re in a phase of the pandemic right now where we’re trying to increase coverage, decrease contact, minimize spread,” Sullivan said. While Sullivan acknowledged that “exactly how that plays out in any given interaction is something we’ll see,” the general no-touch policy is a change in protocol given that the president had been engaging in handshakes with people at the White House over the past two days. BIDEN SUCCEEDS IN MIDDLE EAST TO CONCERT IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL TO CONCERNED ISRAEL, SAUDI ARABIA Sullivan insisted, however, that the change is “not abnormal” because precautions are taken on foreign trips like the one Biden is taking. He noted that the president tested negative for COVID-19 before his flight Wednesday morning. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later backed this up, stating that decisions are being made by Biden’s doctor. Citing the spread of the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron variants, he said “it’s reasonable to expect him to take additional precautions.” OIL, IRAN AND NORMALIZATION TOP OF THE AGENDA BELOW BIDEN STARTS JOURNEY TO ISRAEL AND SAUDI ARABIA A reporter, reporting that Biden was shaking hands on the South Lawn of the White House, asked if the no-handshake measure was a new change in policy and had to do with concerns about him being seen shaking hands with the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman of Arabia. Biden is due to travel to Saudi Arabia from Israel later this week and will see the crown prince and his father, King Salman. “That’s up to his doctor,” insisted Jean-Pierre, insisting that this is not an official policy change, but simply an attempt to “minimize contact as much as possible.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “We want to make sure we’re taking those precautions to keep him safe and to keep all of us safe, and we just want to be very clear on that,” he added. As he disembarked from Air Force One, Biden was greeted by several Israeli officials. While he did not shake their hands, the president patted almost all of them and placed a hand on their shoulders while saying a few words to each. After that, he and Netanyahu shook hands.
