Joe Biden, the President of the United States, arrived in Tel Aviv in Israel on his first official trip as a president to the Middle East. On Wednesday, landing at Ben Gurion airport on Air Force One jet, Israeli officials warmly welcome President Biden. In his opening remarks, the president said you do not need to be a Jew to be a Zionist. He added that the relationship between the American and Israeli people is bone deep.
Joe Biden has landed in the Middle East for his visit as US President. Landing at Ben Gurion airport, Joe Biden was received by Israeli officials. Officials also mentioned the relationship between both countries in their speech as “bone-deep.”#PresidentBiden #Bidenisrael #Biden pic.twitter.com/F8UJbZ61ml
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President Biden said he is proud that United States diplomatic relations with Israel are stronger and more profound than ever. He also reiterated his support and assistance for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestine dispute. On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid described the U.S. leader as a great Zionist. He called Biden one of the best friends his country has ever known.
It was the tenth visit of Joe Biden to Israel; his first visit was in 1973, when he was a first-term United States senator from Delaware. The president will spend two days in Jerusalem on dialogs with Israeli officials, including the prime minister and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, before meeting Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority President, on Friday in the West Bank.
Biden Tour of Saudi Arabia
After completing the tour in Israel, the U.S. president will then flee toward Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for discussions with Saudi officials and to attend a meeting of Gulf allies. Biden’s primary focus will be on the Saudi tour amid tensions over human rights. However, the president faced criticism over his prearranged Saturday talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as the U.S. intelligence agencies accused him of approving the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the rebellious Saudi journalist, in 2018 in Turkey.
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Instead, the U.S. president defended his tour in an op-ed in the Saturday Washington Post and said that his visit’s main focus was to reorient relations but not rupture with Riyadh. Biden’s visit comes at a time of soaring oil prices, and the agenda of the talks between the U.S. and Saudi leaders are likely to be energy production, as the Kingdom is the biggest oil producer in the world.
President Biden will attend a regional meeting along with his Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Saudi Arabia amid reports that the United States is seeking a treaty on closer defense cooperation between Israel and many Arab states to counter the threat from Iran. In addition, Biden will become the first United States president to fly directly from Israel to Saudi Arabia, a sign of growing acceptance of Riyadh’s acceptance of Israel.
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