VideoDuring a four-day trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia, President Biden will focus on securing oil for U.S. gas bombs, halting Iran’s nuclear program, and strengthening relations with Saudi Arabia. CreditCredit … Doug Mills / The New York Times
JERUSALEM – President Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday to open a four-day visit to the Middle East that will focus on trying to curb Iran’s nuclear program, bring oil to US gas bombs and improve relations with Saudi Arabia.
Nearly 50 years after making his first trip to Israel as a newly elected senator, Mr. Biden returned for the first time as president and wasted no time seeking to reaffirm his firm support for the Jewish state despite frictions over their efforts to negotiate a new nuclear. agreement with Iran.
“Every opportunity to return to this great country where the ancient roots of the Jewish people go back to biblical times is a blessing, because the connection between the Israeli people and the American people is deep,” Biden said during a brief arrival. ceremony at Ben Gurion Airport. “Generation after generation, this connection grows.”
Mr. Biden, who noted, as he often does, that he has known all Israeli prime ministers since Golda Meir, whom he met on his first trip in 1973, was making his tenth visit to Israel and seemed intent on dissipating. the idea that he is anyone. less supportive of the country than its predecessor, President Donald J. Trump, who made his support for Israel a cornerstone of its foreign policy.
“From my point of view, our relationship is deeper than ever,” Biden said.
Greeting him as he disembarked from Air Force One, the Israeli leaders echoed the sentiment, emphasizing that they saw Mr. Biden as a friend and did not take his differences into account. President Isaac Herzog called him “our brother Joseph,” and declared, “You are truly among the family.” The country’s interim prime minister, Yair Lapid, called him “a great Zionist and one of the best friends Israel has ever known.”
“It’s a very personal visit,” Mr. Lapid, “because your relationship with Israel has always been very personal. You once defined yourself as a Zionist. You said you don’t have to be Jewish to be a Zionist. And you were right.”
Without insisting, Mr. Lapid confirmed that the two leaders will discuss Iran and its joint efforts to improve cooperation between Middle East countries. Once isolated in the region, Israel is increasingly involved in regional diplomacy, following historic diplomatic agreements with three Arab countries in 2020, and officials expect further progress to be made during Mr Biden’s visit.
Biden also focused on another area of potential tension, and reaffirmed his support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict following criticism that his administration has not prioritized the issue.
“We will discuss my continued support, although I know it is not in a new mandate, for a two-state solution that remains, in my view, the best way to ensure the future of equal measure of freedom. , prosperity and democracy for Israelis and Palestinians alike, ”Biden said.
Prior to his arrival, the Israeli government had made several small gestures to the Palestinians, including the granting of some new work permits to the people of Gaza. But while Mr. Biden will visit Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem, restoring communications that were cut during Trump’s presidency, there is little expectation that the visit will help resolve the dispute.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s oldest prime minister, cut a peripheral figure at the welcoming ceremony. Now out of office, he is the leader of the opposition and will only have a brief meeting with the president on Thursday.
But he and Mr. Biden have a warm, though often strained, relationship dating back four decades, and the U.S. leader decided to look for Mr. Netanyahu during a group photo for Israeli and U.S. officials. Mr. Biden gave a long, warm hand to Mr. Netanyahu, and both men gave the impression of being glad to see each other.
The president’s trip comes at a delicate time in Israeli politics. Recently, a fragile governing coalition collapsed, and Mr. Lapid was interim prime minister until the November election in which Mr. Netanyahu hopes to return.
At the end of the reception ceremony, Mr. Lapid joked about the respective trajectories of him and Biden from a previous meeting between the two in Washington.
He told Mr Biden: “I don’t know if you remember, but eight years ago we met at the White House when you were vice-president. You said to me, ‘If I only had hair like yours, I would be president,’ which I replied: ‘And if I only had your height, I would be prime minister’ ”.