Biden greeted as old friend in Israel at start of Middle East tour
US President Joe Biden arrived on Wednesday (Jul 13) in Israel, which embraced him as an old friend on the first leg of a high-stakes trip dominated by efforts to bring it closer to Saudi Arabia and to persuade Washington’s Gulf allies to pump more oil.
Landing at Ben Gurion Airport, whose tarmac he first trod in 1973 as a senator, Biden bumped fists with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and President Isaac Herzog and, in a speech, described the connection between the two nations as “bone-deep”.
“You do not need to be a Jew to be a Zionist,” Biden added, voicing support for the ideology behind Israel’s foundation on lands with ancient Jewish roots, and which is deeply resented by many Palestinians.
Biden also reiterated US desire for negotiations, stalled since 2014, to create a Palestinian state on Israeli-occupied territory, calling this two state solution “the best hope” for both peoples.
Biden’s first visit to Israel as president is his tenth of a long political career. Israel has stepped carefully around disputes with Washington over Iranian nuclear diplomacy and long-stalled Palestinian statehood negotiations.
“Your relationship with Israel has always been personal,” Lapid said in a speech, calling Biden “one of the best friends Israel has ever known”.
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Biden will spend two days in Jerusalem before meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday in the occupied West Bank.
He will then fly directly from Israel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for talks with Saudi officials and to attend a summit of Gulf allies.
US officials say the trip could produce more steps toward normalisation between Israel and Saudi Arabia, historic foes but also two of America’s strongest allies in the turbulent region.
That would build on the establishing or upgrading of Israeli relations with United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco under a US initiative in 2020 dubbed the Abraham Accords, after the biblical patriarch revered by both Jews and Muslims.
In a similar vein, Herzog played on Biden’s first name, deeming him “both a visionary and a leader” like the biblical Joseph. Biden was “truly amongst family” in Israel, Herzog said.
Biden’s trip aims to promote regional stability, deepen Israel’s integration in the region and counter Iranian influence and aggression by Russia and China.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan reiterated Washington’s desire for the reopening of a Jerusalem consulate shut down by the former US administration of President Donald Trump. The consulate had served the Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem as capital of a future state.
“Obviously that requires engagement with the Israeli government,” Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force 1. Israel deems all of Jerusalem its capital - a status not recognised abroad - and does not consent to the consulate reopening.
Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said he saw nothing new from Biden on Palestinian issues.
“Biden’s visit aims to integrate the occupation state in the Arab region and build a new alliance against Iran. When it comes to the promises President Biden made during his electoral campaign and early in office, we don’t see any practical formula to reflect that on the ground,” he added. REUTERS
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