Biden gave a string of enthusiastic handshakes in the Middle East, torpedoing a White House hope to avoid an awkward photo with MBS

• Officials said Biden would avoid handshakes on his Middle East trip due to COVID-19.
• Aides reportedly hope that will also ensure Biden doesn't shake the Saudi crown prince's hand.

President Joe Biden was photographed shaking hands with multiple people in Israel on Wednesday, ruining White House plans for him to avoid handshakes on his Middle East trip.

White House officials said the policy was to avoid the spread of COVID-19 amid the rise of the BA.5 Omicron subvariant, though reports noted that it would also help Biden avoid shaking hands with Saudi Arabia's crown prince.

Biden landed in Israel on Wednesday, and fist bumped the country's president and prime minister on the tarmac.

He was later photographed shaking the hand of Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, as well as those of Holocaust survivors at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial center in Jerusalem. He also shook hands with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, The New York Times reported.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had told reporters on Air Force One before Biden landed, according to The Times: "We're in a phase of the pandemic now where we are seeking to reduce contact."

But he also said it was not a hard rule, adding: "I can't speak to every moment and every interaction and every movement. That's just a general principle we're applying."

But reports also listed another reason that Biden and his team might want to avoid photos of handshakes: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

It is not clear if the no-handshake policy was introduced for that reason, but Politico and The Washington Post noted that having it could be convenient for White House aides who want to avoid images of Biden and the crown prince looking close.

Administration officials were worried about images of Biden and the crown prince together, The Times reported. Biden said on the 2020 campaign trail that he would make the country a "pariah" over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, and effectively demoted the crown prince — who was accused of ordering the killing — when he became president.

But it is now not clear if Biden will return to a no-handshake approach after breaking it in Israel.

Biden is expected to spend Thursday in Israel and travel to Saudi Arabia on Friday, when he will meet the crown prince and other Saudi leaders. Biden has defended the trip, saying it was necessary to help alleviate the energy crisis brought on by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.