US President Joe Biden begins his four-day trip to Middle East
Middle East, News, US July 14, 2022 Comments Off on US President Joe Biden begins his four-day trip to Middle EastU.S. President Joe Biden landed in Tel Aviv on July 13, as he began his four-day trip to the Middle East that includes a visit to the West Bank and Saudi Arabia.
Biden has visited Israel quite a few times, as a senator and Vice President, with his first official visit dating back to 1973. However, this is the first time that has arrived in Israel as the President of the United States. As he stepped out of Air Force One at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, President Biden was warmly welcomed by Israeli officials.
During his speech at the airport, he described U.S.’s connection to Israel as ‘bone deep’. He claimed himself to be a Zionist as he stated that “You don’t need to be a Jew to be a Zionist.” The U.S. President also reaffirmed his support to find a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
As a first official meeting for his trip to the Middle East, President Biden met with the Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid. Israel is going through another governmental transition as former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett disbanded his fragile coalition government and called for a new election three weeks ago.
According to the White House statement, the U.S. and Israeli leaders will discuss a number of issues including, “President Biden’s and the United States’ strong support for Israel” and “ironclad support for Israel’s security.”
Israel is now bracing for the fifth election in less than four years. The new election can give a chance to Israel’s longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a chance to return to power, who is currently serving as the leader of the opposition.
President Biden would visit West Bank on Friday, July 15, where he would meet with the President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas. After concluding his visits to Israel and Palestine, the U.S. President would fly to Saudi Arabia in an unprecedented flight from Tel Aviv to Jeddah, where he would participate in the summit of Gulf allies.
Biden administration is under severe pressure at home due to the increasing gasoline prices. President is expected to sign new deals with his Arab partners in order to press his Arab partners to expand oil production to not only curtail the fuel prices but also provide alternative fuel options for the European market as the U.S. is trying to cut its dependence on the Russia oil and gas amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
President Biden’s trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia is also subjected to bringing the two countries closer in order to normalize the relationship between the two most prominent U.S. allies in the Middle East in the light of shared concerns against Iran.
Earlier in February this year, Amnesty International released a report labeling Israel as an “apartheid regime” on accounts of its “oppression and domination” against the Palestinian Arab population. The report which was published by the London-based organization urged the United States to use “all political and diplomatic tools” to ensure that Israel does not contribute to maintaining the system of apartheid.
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